Turn a Windows 7 Laptop into a Wi-Fi Hotspot
Here’s some new software for Windows 7 called Connectify which allows you to turn your Windows 7 laptop into a wireless hotspot. Basically, it converts your laptop into a wireless router of sorts, acting as a wireless access point for computers and wireless devices. It’s essentially like creating your own wifi hotspot like the ones at Starbucks and other retailers.
It was developed by a military consulting firm called Nomadio and it allows other wireless devices to ‘tether’’ themselves to a single Internet connection. It’s secure too as the software encrypts traffic in both directions using WPA2-Personal encryption. Check out the demo video below:
This would be especially useful at airports to share the expensive Wi-Fi with friends or simply for extending your home WiFi without paying through the nose for a wireless router.
More Wifi Hacks
December 22nd, 2009
Thanks for writing about Connectify. We thought you may want to know that Connectify 1.0 is now available for free as the first production ready release. Some older wireless cards do not yet have full Windows 7 support, and for those devices Connectify will act as an Ad Hoc connection manager, instead of a full blown Wi-Fi Access Point.
Changes since Beta 4 include:
• Improved Notification tray icons (including a warning icon if the selected Internet connection is not currently working)
• Support for even more wireless cards and configurations
• Improved memory and CPU management
• Recover from sleep/hibernate
• Support for machines where multiple users install Connectify and log on at same time
• Ability to remove clients from the Client History list (right click to get menu)
• Auto-hiding of the Mode box. By default we hide the “Mode†box to choose between AP or Ad Hoc mode. If your wireless card supports both, then we default to Access Point mode. To keep the mode box visible, there is an option on the Option menu (right click on the Connectify logo to show the menu).
Thank you again for your support.
March 17th, 2010
Really? Seriously? this is Dinosaur on macs. I mean, all i have to do to do that is go to the airpot menu and choose create network. No offense to those with windows, but windows should take a clue form mac.
Again no offense. I’m sure this is really useful.
April 17th, 2010
to the person who is sayin stuff about mac… you have been able to create a wireless (ad-hoc) networks from laptops and wireless enabled desktops since windows xp. it is very easy and takes a few clicks. this program turns it from a simple ad-hoc network, to a full blown access point. this gives the ability to be used with ps3, PSP, and any wireless enabled device. ad hoc is not supported by many devices, but since this gives a full access point signal, many more devices can connect to a computer network