Not too long ago, most people hadn't heard of wireless Internet access, but these days, it's commonplace.

There are two basic types of wireless Internet connections. The first is through a cell phone network, which is used by a growing number of people for browsing the web and checking email through smart phones and PDA devices such as a Blackberry or an iPhone.

This works pretty much anywhere you get cell reception.

If you're using a computer to browse the web or check your email, it's more common to use a Wi-Fi connection -- what most people think of as wireless internet.

It basically works like a portable phone in your home. You have the cradle that you plug into the phone line, and the handset works anywhere within range of the radio signal it's sending.

This is exactly how a wireless router works -- the router is hooked up to an internet connection, and broadcasts the signal to a wireless card in your computer (or sometimes a little device you plug into the computer).

So the router is like the portable phone's cradle, and the wireless card is like the handset.

Does that make sense?

There are a lot of advantages to using wireless internet. Using wireless internet lets you put your computer in a different room of the house from where the internet connection is, or roam from room to room if you have a laptop. It also lets you have more than one computer share the internet connection.

And of course, if you have a laptop, you can take it with you during the day or on a trip, and can find a lot of places where you can use the internet, often for free.

But there are some