Going without the internet, and by extension, without a USB wireless card, is simply no longer practical in the modern world. Whether you use your computer for work or recreation. But while using usb wireless cards is for the most part a matter of just having the software set up properly and the card plugged in, actually understanding the technical specs for a card to sort the bad ones from the good ones can be much more confusing. And getting an incompatible or poor quality USB wireless ethernet card can be absolutely disastrous, so if you’re just a little bit intimidated by shopping for one, that’s perfectly natural. With a quick and informative explanation of some of the basics of the USB wireless card, you can go looking and know exactly what you want.

The first thing to do is to look for a card that is fully WiFi compatible. Without this compatibility you’ll find it difficult or impossible to make use of the commonly-offered WiFi services of various establishments. Fortunately, compatibility with WiFi is a settled industry standard by now, and you shouldn’t have to look hard to find it. Look for cards that specifically have the WiFi certification seal. If the certification symbol has an ‘N’ on it, that means it will be compatible with immediately anticipated changes and updates in WiFi format, giving the card added longevity. You also want to find a card that uses the standard WiFi protocol, which is 802.11g. All of this is basic to any good USB wireless network card and you should never settle for anything less unless you’re just plain getting it for free.

Then there are privacy and protection issues to keep in mind. Not all wireless internet connections are protected from intrusions or misuse by default! This is obviously especially important for business purposes, but even computers used for leisure need a certain amount of protection. That is, of course, unless you WANT your computer to be infested with viruses, rootkits, and the like! One of the easiest things to look for to measure up this factor in a USB wireless PC card is Wired Equivalent Privacy. Abbreviated as WEP, getting a 128-bet level of Wired Equivalent Privacy will, true to the name, give a certain amount of protection equal to a wired system. Without this extra protection, wireless systems in particular can be vulnerable to invasion. This is because wireless cards automatically search for connections to log in to. Without a good level of WEP, it’s like having a house with all the doors wide open.

Simple compatibility is the last issue you should worry about in a wireless USB network card, besides, of course, the price. Don’t just assume that all card models by a given company will work for your computer, and don’t assume that all versions of an operating system are the same. Find customer reviews and other opinions that can specifically address how a particular model functions on your specific OS version. That way, you can definitely buy a card you won’t regret.