I have a computer with a dialup connection. But my sister has a laptop with wireless internet capability and when she comes home from college, she can get internet access from an unsecured network.

If I were to buy a wireless card, and plug it into my computer, I assume it would recieve the signal(if it is the same type of wireless internet my sister gets). But I have Windows 2000, and I do not know how to set up this connection on my computer.

So I basically have three questions: 1. Will the wireless card work?
2. Is it safe to use the unsecured network and what precautions can I take(She's been using it for 2 summers in a row without incident, but you can't be too safe)?
3. What will I have to do with computer options in Windows 2000 to set it up?

Note: I will find out whether my sister has 802.11xg/b or other type.

Regarding Question 2:
Some places that's stealing. You're not paying for the broadband wifi connection, and pirating someone else's signal. OTOH, they're not securing it. I'm not taking sides on either matter. I have a wireless router, and it's secured. So no piggybacking my signal.

I'd also like to point out some wisdom from bash.org (http://bash.org/?202477):
(Mootar) morons.
(Mootar) these people who live in my apartment complex are connected to my wireless
(Mootar) they must think they're super-cool hackers by breaking into my completely unsecure network
(Mootar) unfortunatly, the connection works both ways
(Mootar) long story short, they now have loads of horse porn on their computer

If you're going to use someone else's signal, then there's the possibility that they can get to your files as well. Or even a third party that connects to the network and browses it.

I'm sure any wireless card you buy will have setup instructions for Win2k. You can go to Belkin or Linksys' website, and browse their cards and see if they have one that would work for your system. I can't see why one wouldn't work for Win2k, but you never know. At least, until you check it out. It's been a long time since I've used Win2k, and we never used wireless when we had it. So I can't give you specific answers, sorry.

Well considering I live in the suburbs in a housing development by the woods, I'm pretty sure that the connection could only be from one of my neighbors. And it's labeled "belkin 54g" so I assume it's a belkin card with 802.11g wireless on it. I think I'll try it, I have good firewalls at my house.