You have installed some linux version. Let’s assume it is Ubuntu. Unfortunately, you have a router setup that needs you to connect to it with WPA. No WPA connection means no internet. No problem, there are many tutorials available to make your life easier. Or do they?

Let me carefully state the initial condition again: you have no internet access and you want to set it up. You find yourself a second computer where you open your browser and search the internet hoping to find a fix for your problem. You will not be disappointed. Many sites offer a solution. Since you have Ubuntu, you might as well choose the search result from the Community Ubuntu Documentation. It offers an easy solution (since this is a rant I will pretend I’m too pissed off to go find the exact resource, whereas I’m just too lazy) :

sudo apt-get install network-manager-gnome

I don’t doubt this solution works great when you are connected to the internet ALREADY. For the beginner, or the one who is not interested in learning about the system but just wants to connect to the internet, this is a dead trail.