Wireless Network

Connecting to Wireless

Connecting to the Williams wireless network (PurpleAir) is easy.
(Visitors to campus please click here for Williams Guest wifi directions)

Just follow these steps:

• Configure your wireless settings (the default settings will work on most machines).
• Associate to an access point with an SSID of PurpleAir. (ie.,point to the PurpleAir network)
• You will be prompted to OK a certificate.
• When prompted for username/password use your short username (do not add @williams.edu) and the password that you normally use for email.
• Note: Mac users will also be prompted for their local username/password

Connecting Smart Phones

Apple iPhones and Android devices support our wireless network, Purple Air.

If you ever have trouble you may need to go back to Settings, Wi-Fi and tell the device to forget any other networks it is trying to connect to.

Using Wireless

Wireless connections are inherently insecure, so we will require the use of secure applications when connecting to Williams servers. For example, you will need to use:

• Secure Shell (SSH) instead of Telnet.
• Secure FTP (SFTP) instead of FTP.
• Secure POP email (S-POP) instead of regular POP3 email.
• Secure IMAP email (S-IMAP) instead of regular IMAP email.

We’ve included tutorials on how to accomplish these things, so check out the Applications section for more information.

Networks and Systems

The following Networks and Systems members are responsible for the planning, deployment, and maintenance of the Williams Wireless Network:

Edward Nowlan – Director of Networks and Systems
Todd Gould – Switching, Deployment, Maintenance, Planning