Share Internet Connection As Wi-Fi Hotspot in Windows 7
Sometimes we want to share the internet connection we have with some other laptops or smart phones. While we only have one internet connection which is connected to the laptop we are using and we do not have the wireless access point or wireless router to share our connection.
Now we can do this easily, do not require hardware such as wireless access point and router which is quite expensive. Simply use our wireless laptop as a tool to share the internet connection we are using and assisted with applications that can be downloaded free on the Internet. It is Wi-Fi Hotspot using our Windows laptop.
Among these applications there are two alternative software most widely used today, they are Connectify and Virtual Router.
Connectify – Connectify.me
With this program you can easily turn your Windows laptop into a secure Wi-Fi hotspot to share the Internet with friends, co-workers, and mobile devices. This program running smoothly in Windows 7 OS also support for Windows XP and Windows Vista but with Ad-Hoc Mode only.
This application has two versions, Lite and Pro. The Lite version can be downloaded and used free of charge. But of course the Lite version features are different from features offered by the Pro version.
Connectify Features
Connectify can work in Ad-Hoc mode with just about any Wi-Fi device on Windows 7, Vista, or XP. However, to run in Access Point mode, you must be running Windows 7, and you must have a Windows 7 certified network device driver for your Wi-Fi device. Most of mobile devices like Android only work with hotspot that run in Access Point mode. For more information about devices that support to run in Access Point mode, go to this post
Download Connectify Lite version here
Virtual Router – Virtualrouter.codeplex.com
Virtual Router turns any Windows 7 or Windows 2008 R2 Computer into a Wifi Hotspot using Windows 7′s Wireless Hosted Network (Virtual Wifi) technology. Virtual Router is a free, open source software based router for PCs running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2. Using Virtual Router, users can wirelessly share any internet connection (Wifi, LAN, Cable Modem, Dial-up, Cellular, etc.) with any Wifi device (Laptop, Smart Phone, iPod Touch, iPhone, Android Phone, Zune, Netbook, wireless printer, etc.)
These devices connect to Virtual Router just like any other access point, and the connection is completely secured using WPA2 (the most secure wireless encryption). Unlike similar applications, Virtual Router is not only completely Free, but will not annoy you with any advertisements. The Wireless Network create/shared with Virtual Router uses WPA2 Encryption, and there is not way to turn off that encryption.
You can give your “virtual” wireless network any name you want, and also set the password to anything. Just make sure the password is at least 8 characters.
Virtual Router
Likely Connectify not all devices support this application. See this list to know if your wireless card supported.
Thats all program that you can use to create your own Hotspot using Windows laptop.