Cannot establish a network connection

Ok, I hope one you guys can help point me in the right direction. I am new to the wireless world of computers. I just purchased a laptp, an Acer Aspire 5515Windows Vista Basic, 3GB memory, 160G.

I am trying to set up the computer and get on the internet. There is a little icon in the bottom right hand corner that says: Wireless networks are available, when I click on "connect to a network" it shows multiple wirless network connections. I live on a college campus, so there are lots of hotspots around. When I click on one of the networks, it says that I have to "type the network security key or passphrase for..." There are five of them total. I connected the laptop to my cable modem at home and I still cannot get on, it tells me "failed to connect to broadband connection."

Well, have tried to look up info on the internet and nothing has worked so far, your advice and help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your help.

Matt

 

You need to enter a password to connect to the college wireless internet. I would suggest going to see your IT department to get the key.

 

Thanks for the reply, I appreciate your response. I did get into the network and have been able to connect. Thanks again!