How to Disable Wireless in Registry

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Your wireless access network card lets you connect to any wireless router. All of your network settings are stored in the Windows registry, so you can use the registry editor to change network settings such as the availability of a wireless card. Network administrators use this feature to disable a wireless card and limit a user's ability to connect to outside networks such as coffee shops. Disabling wireless protects company computers from being hacked on insecure public networks.

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Step 1

Click the Windows "Start" button and type "regedit" in the search text box. Press "Enter" to open your Windows registry editor. Navigate to "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip6\Parameters" in the editor.

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Step 2

Right-click the white space on the right side of the window, and select "New" then "DWORD (32-bit) Value." This opens a configuration window.

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Step 3

Type "DisabledComponents" in the "Name" text box. Type "ffffffff" as the value and click "OK." This saves your changes and disables the wireless card's protocol.

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Step 4

Reboot your computer. The registry changes in wireless settings will take effect after you reboot.

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