I have been living in the world of a single operating system environment for almost all of my life at home. I have several PCs and laptops all running some version of Microsoft Windows. Recently, I purchased my first non-Windows machine - a Mac Powerbook G4.

All was working fine until I tried to connect to one of my two access points on my wireless network at home. It simply would not connect to the linksys access point with security (encryption) turned on. This was trouble for me because I refuse to leave my wireless network open for anyone to access. So, I was forced to use my NETGEAR access point that I have in the basement for many months. This was bad in that

I couldn't get a signal in my backyard or upstairs bedroom because the signal wasn't strong enough to reach there.

In any event, I learned a simple little trick from a good friend of mine that solved my problem, and I hope that it solves yours too, if you have this problem.

When typing in the encryption key to access the wireless network, put the $ symbol before you type the key.

For example, if your encryption key is A4BEB3B8EC, type $A4BEB3B8EC instead.

This simple little trick was all I needed to connect my Mac to my wireless network with encryption turned on!