connecting to a hotspot other than my own

[nyker]

Hi,   I am a newbie, and apologize if I am not going about this the right way... Anyway I have a G3 mac laptop and it has a wireless card.  I can get connected to my DSL with no problem.  My question is,  when I go out, and come across a "hot spot",  do I need to put in some kind of key or something to get on line?   I know that with a starbucks that has an open connection I don't have to, but when I go to a friends house or a place of business that has wi-fi,  is there some thing I can do to access a network if it is closed?  I am not looking to do anything illegal,  I am just trying to figure out how to connect to a closed network that I am given permission to.   Thanks,    Cheri

[Calum]

Normally, you just need to enter a password.
If in doubt, ask the owner of the wireless connection to allow you access - they will have the password and any other steps needed.
Hope this helps.

[Jonas Wauters]

If the network is protected with mac filtering then he 'll need your mac address.

Jonas