How do I install drivers for the Alfa AWUS036H USB wireless adapter?

I bought this network adapter from Amazon and I don't know how to install the drivers. The adapter comes with a CD for drivers and when I put it in, it has .autorun.exe autorun.ico autorun.csp, and autorun.inf.

I know that it supports Linux because when I installed them on my Windows (Dual-boot) it asked me if I wanted to Linux drivers, Mac, or Windows.


The ALFA AWUS036H adapter is based on the Realtek RTL8187 chipset. The drivers should be built into Ubuntu, but you may want to try installing the latest from Realtek:

  1. Download the "Linux driver for Kernel 3.0.0/3.1.0/3.2.0" from the Realtek website here.
  2. It will open in Archive Manager; extract the rtl8187L_linux_1041.0209.2012 folder to your Downloads folder.
  3. Open a terminal with Ctrl+Alt+T, and type/paste the following, one line a time:

    sudo apt-get install build-essential linux-headers-`uname -r`
    cd Downloads/rtl8187L_linux_1041.0209.2012
    make
    sudo make install
    

Then reboot, and your AWUS036H should be detected.