There are many software programs you can download that will find available wireless networks for you. But did you know that if you use Windows 7 or Vista, you can find available wireless networks, wherever you are, without downloading anything.
To find out what (if any) wireless networks are available wherever you are and lots of other interesting information such as signal strength, broadcast channel, and more about any detected wireless networks near you, just do this:
1. Press Windows Key + R
2. In the form next to “Open” type “CMD” (without the quotes) and press ENTER.
3. The command window will open
4. At the prompt enter the following command: “netsh wlan show all” (without the quotes), and press Enter.
Every available wireless connection will be shown including the you’re connected to, if any.
When I did this the DOS box flashed open, ran something, and closed. This all happened in a split second. Is there something I need to do to make the box stay open to read it?
You have to run CMD first, you cannot run the commands to find wireless networks from the Run box.