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Netgear WiFi Gripes Model MA111 is a USB WiFi B Network Adapter

There are three versions of the MA111 USB network adapter. Mine was version 2. In December 2004 I used it on a computer with an old version of Windows XP Professional and in January 2005 I used it on a computer with the latest version of XP Professional. The driver version was 5.1.1039.1030 from May 28, 2004. The configuration utility was version 1.0.0.7 from May 28, 2004. 

Before using this WiFi adapter for the first time, I checked the Netgear web site to see what it had to say about Windows XP SP2 which changed many things regarding the configuration of WiFi devices. Nothing there.

After you install the hardware and software, your computer automatically connects to a WiFi network. I said "a" WiFi network, not "your" WiFi network. The Netgear software defaults to scanning for available networks and connecting to one of them (I don't know how it chooses). This is not a good default if you care about security at all. There was no mention of this in the Setup Guide. Both times I used this device, it did not connect to the desired network despite their being a very strong signal (no doubt because the desired network was secure).

If you read the above, you may think you're prepared to disconnect from an unwanted network. You can't. There is no disconnect feature in the Netgear software. Instead you'll either have to remove the device physically or disable the WiFi connection using Windows.

Windows XP does not like the driver. It is not signed/verified/qualified. When the network adapter is installed, Windows warns you that it is not safe to use.

After having been on another WiFi network, I defined my network to the Netgear software and connected to it. The signal strength was good and there were no errors. But the IP address did not change, the computer still had the IP address of the previous network and thus I couldn't get on the Internet.