Turn Your Windows 7 Computer Into a WiFi Router In 5 Minutes, Free & No Hardware
Connectify.me is a new service we just found out about. They've sussed out how to make any Windows 7 computer into a WiFi hotspot. Since we just installed Windows 7 on a spare laptop, we figured it was about time to make Windows do something cool, so we installed the app.
We were quite literally up and running with other devices connected in five minutes. In fact, this post is being published right now on a Connectify.me-powered connection. Windows 7 users have got to try this app. You never know when you'll get to save the day by letting other users share your Internet connection.
Speaking of which, use cases we can think of right now run the gamut between Sticking It To The Man and Violating My ISP's TOS; nevertheless, it's an interesting, fun little hack that should've been done long ago.
Installation is simple. Go to the website, click the big, shiny button, run the .exe file, follow the prompt. You'll then see a Connectify logo in the notification tray. It's party time! Choose a name, set up a password, and click the big, shiny button. Congratulations. You're now a software-based wireless router. It took about five very obvious clicks and was truly so easy a caveman could do it.
This is almost as much fun as that MiFi we played with a while ago. The main difference is that the MiFi creates an Internet connection for 3-5 users using cellular networks, and Connectify allows multiple users to piggyback off a single connection. Oh, and the MiFi and similar devices cost a bit - or a lot - to buy and maintain, but Connectify is free to install and run.
Connectify runs on Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 r2. Why no other Windows OSes, you ask? "Connectify depends on improvements made in Windows 7 to operate," reads the site's FAQ. "Frankly, Windows 7 is such a big improvement that we suggest you're better off upgrading than waiting for us to get all this working on an older version of Windows."
Three cheers for Windows for getting their act together on the OS front, and many thanks to Connectify for bringing us all n-for-the-price-of-1 WiFi!
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That's pretty sweet -- MS producing a little magic! Are there any other software solutions similar to this I wonder...
ummmm .. how is this fundamentally different from using internet connection sharing - a feature that's been in windows for ages?
But WLAN drivers that support Vwifi are not available yet so Readwriteweb got a gem here.
I am excited about this.
Wow, you're lucky. I thought this heaviliy depends on the device chip and available drivers. But very nice tool, i think i'll try it once my W7 is installed.
This is cool and amazing!Should it be Windows 7 how about if I upgrade the Windows with an old hardware? How come this has never been published or maybe I missed it?
Aside from having a Windows software installed in my computer how about for Linux? Is there any magic as well?
Thanks!
Cool app!
Bzeek is doing it and more and works on XP,
Vista and Windows 7.
See http://www.Bzeek.com
So what sort of range does your laptop-based router have? Just a few feet or hundreds of feet?
This is different from just setting up an ad-hoc network that you could already do with previous Windows OS's. Ad-hoc networks require a dedicated wireless card to broadcast from, meaning you needed a wired line to receive data, or a second wireless card. Now with this app, you're able to receive and broadcast on a single card.
And other devices that have issues with Ad-hoc networks like iPhones are running flawlessly for me with Connectify.
What is the use case? I mean, if my laptop is connected to a wireless network, and my friends' laptops are connected to MY wireless network created by this application, then why couldn't my friends just directly connect to the same connection I am?
@CrowdLens: You're in starbucks, as an AT&T customer, so you get free WiFi. Your friends brings a laptop, but isn't, and doesn't want to pay.
You log in, and begin broadcasting as a hub. Since his traffic goes through your computer, he surfs for free.
A bit of a 'nefarious' use case, but perhaps it will get your imagination going?
Smart move, as Macs do this routinely. For example, I work in an XP gov't environment, and we got a Mac mini so we have our own WiFi on this floor of our tower, as well as to test our web page as seen by citizens who use Macs. Super handy! Then little Mac help, as it will take forever to get 7 into gov't with all the legacy apps.
Incredibly simple. Great stuff
Zonerider works on any computer, and any windows OS.
http://www.zonerider.com
This is cool and amazing!Should it be Windows 7 how about if I upgrade the Windows with an old hardware? How come this has never been published or maybe I missed it?