Connecting Using a Wired Connection

• 1
  An Ethernet port looks like a large phone jack.DSL Modem Detail image by Rob Hill from Fotolia.com
  
  Connect the Ethernet cable to the back of your computer by pushing it into the port that looks like a large phone jack.
  
  
• 2
  A switch splits the router connection through multiple Ethernet cables.switch image by martini from Fotolia.com
  
  Connect the Ethernet cable to the switch. A switch is a box with many ports for different computers that splits the connection from the router to different devices.
  
  
• 3). Connect the Ethernet cable from the switch to the router via the port labeled "Internet," "WAN" or "WLAN" depending on the brand of router you have.
  
  
• 4). Restart your computer. Repeat these steps for other computers using a wired connection.
  
  

Connecting Using a Wi-Fi Connection

• 1). Click on the Wi-Fi connection icon. This is on the right side of the taskbar in Windows. For Windows XP and Vista, the icon looks like a little computer or computer monitor, which may or may not have an X through it. On Windows 7 the icon looks like the bars on a cell phone. Again, it may or may not have an X on it. For a Mac, the wireless icon is on the top, right of the screen and looks like round waves going up.
  
  
• 2). Choose the network to connect to by clicking on it. The network's name will be the name you gave the router at setup or the brand of the router if you did not give it a name. The Mac and Windows 7 will show you a list of networks it sees. XP and Vista will bring up a new window with a list of networks.
  
  
• 3). Click on "Connect" to connect to the network. If you set up the router with a password, enter the password when you are asked to type it in.