Windows Vista includes new features that make networking easier, safer, and more reliable. Whether used at home or in a small business or large enterprise, Windows Vista simplifies connectivity so you can focus on what’s most important. Connect wirelessly to your company’s network, share printers and a high-speed Internet connection, copy files between PCs, and enjoy your favorite online entertainment at home.

Network and Sharing Center

The Network and Sharing Center puts you in control of your network. Use it to check your connection status, view a visual representation of your network, and troubleshoot connection problems. The Network and Sharing Center informs you about the network systems your computer is connected to and verifies whether it can successfully access the Internet. It even summarizes this information in a handy Network Map.

Connectivity

Windows Vista streamlines the process of connecting to networks and enables you to connect to any type of network—local wireless networks, corporate networks through a virtual private network (VPN), a remote access server (RAS), or a dial-up connection—all in one easy-to-find place.^N This view of connectivity options is just one click away from the Start menu.

Wireless networking is also more secure, with enhanced support for the latest wireless security protocols, including Wi-Fi Protected Access 2, or WPA2. To improve the overall experience, rather than showing multiple pop-up notifications, Windows Vista shows a system tray on the lower right side of the screen with a single icon that indicates when a wireless network is available. Windows Vista also provides an easy way to create direct PC-to-PC wireless connections to enable sharing and peer-to-peer programs, even when you’re not connected to the Internet.

Network Explorer

You can browse content on any connected computer and device, just as you’d browse folders on your PC. You can also print to any connected printer. The new Network Explorer in Windows Vista makes it easy to do all of this. It presents a view of all computers, devices, and printers on a network (including those not yet fully configured for the network)—and it’s significantly faster and more reliable than My Network Places in Windows XP.

The Network Explorer can even show custom, representative icons for different devices, as specified by a device manufacturer. You can directly interact with selected devices—for example, to adjust settings or control music playback.

Network Map

When you’ve connected multiple wired and wireless computers and devices, it can be difficult to grasp exactly how they’re connected. A new feature called the Network Map shows an easy-to-understand graphical view of everything on the network and how it is all connected. This helps you optimize your network for the best performance and easily locate any problems.

Network Setup

With Windows Vista, setting up a network among multiple PCs and devices such as printers, music players, and game systems is simpler and more intuitive. The Network Setup Wizard easily and automatically identifies supported network devices, and the connections it forges are more secure.

With Windows Connect Now you can save network settings to a portable universal serial bus (USB) flash drive to speed and simplify the process of adding more supported PCs and devices to the network. Simply insert a USB flash drive into a PC or device, and it automatically reads the data and readies itself to join the network.

File and printer sharing is also easily enabled on every networked PC right from the Network Setup Wizard so you can share documents, pictures, music, and other files across your network.

Network Awareness

A feature called Network Awareness notifies supported applications of changes in a PC’s network connectivity. As you switch between different networks, programs that support Network Awareness can modify your PC settings for each one. For example, when you switch from your home network to a wireless network at your neighborhood coffee shop, your firewall settings can change to prevent other patrons from seeing or accessing your computer and your shared files.

Other related articles:

• Scanning in Windows Vista (yea some of us dont know how) | JonesPC – A friend of mine got a new PC recently. When he got home he setup everything else he had at his desk to the new PC. Of coarse, the new PC had Vista installed,
• Comment on QUIT- Quick Indexing Tool by Diet tips – I understand how it would have affected your overall image once it has been abused. I thank you for contributing and giving this software freely to everyone.
• Easy Fix For Missing Icons In System TrayNotification Area In . – Home » My Geeky Side » Solution For Missing Icons In The System Tray-Windows Vista Home Premium. Solution For Missing Icons In The System Tray-Windows Vista Home Premium. A few nights ago, Windows went through a scheduled update.
• Windows 7 upgrade path for Windows Vista, XP and 2000 machines … – Windows 7 upgrade path for Windows Vista, XP and 2000 machines. windows Windows 7 upgrade path for Windows Vista, XP and 2000 machines. If you’re one of millions users of XP or Vista planning to upgrade to Windows 7 or want to purchase …
• Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium UPGRADE C & Internet Lifestyle – User-friendly software combines the features of Windows Vista Home Basic with even more impressive and user-friendly capabilities Features Windows Aero, an efficient and visually stunning interface that makes it easier to accomplish …
• Windows Vista Support and Help Services | computing guy – Windows vista is an Operating system which was developed by Microsoft in year of 2006. The previous name of Windows vista was longhorn. Windows vista has lots.
• How to speed up Windows Vista? [ gadget reviews ] — techkisite.com – Hello there! If you are new here, you might want to subscribe to the RSS feed for updates on this topic.Powered by WP Greet Box WordPress PluginIt is quite difficult to deal with a slow computer. You may get annoyed.
• Restore The .exe File Association In Windows Vista, After … – i have got this answer but i didn’t know what to do exactly: what is(HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ FileExts \ .exe \ UserChoice) where i need to type itQuestionI was opening up an .exe …
• commonwealth security advisory – january 14th, 2009 – … microsoft windows server 2003 with sp2 for itanium-based systems, microsoft windows vista, microsoft windows vista service pack 1, microsoft windows vista x64 edition, microsoft windows vista x64 edition service pack 1, …
• commonwealth security advisory – december 11th, 2008 – affected microsoft products: microsoft windows vista, microsoft windows vista service pack 1, microsoft windows vista x64 edition, microsoft windows vista x64 edition service pack 1, microsoft windows server 2008 for 32-bit systems, …
• commonwealth security advisory – october 23rd, 2008 – microsoft rates this vulnerability as important for the following products: microsoft windows vista and windows vista service pack 1, microsoft windows vista x64 edition and windows vista x64 edition service pack 1, microsoft windows …
• Han solo | De eerste extreem rechtse stand-up comedian van … – http://inertia-supercharging-site-edu.gomsubiveo.homelinux.org Says: April 1st, 2009 at 23:33. inertia supercharging site edu… EPkytt0 | inertia switch harley … http://morel-mushroom-buyers-in-wi.wiasajkayb.doesntexist.org Says: April 1st, 2009 at 23:42 … windows vista gamers july… 9NQ3Zt0 | christain gamers … http://beneath-the-milky-twilight.bipdukciho.dyndns.info Says: April 2nd, 2009 at 2:09. beneath the milky twilight… 7XfPlt0 | beneath the encasing … …