Sharing your Windows internet connection via software has traditionally been a tricky business.
Intel's latest 32-bit and 64-bit drivers now include support, as do various others for Atheros, Broadcom, Realtek and other big players, but these don't apply to every chipset. Check the support site for your wireless adapter to see what's available.
If you're in luck and manage to find and install an up-to-date Windows 7 driver for your adapter, then the next step is to set it up, and for that you'll need an elevated command prompt. Click Start, type CMD, right-click the Cmd.exe link and select "Run as Administrator".
Now type the following command:
netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode=allow ssid="Name" key="Desired Password"
and press [Enter]. Replace "Name" with the name you'd like to use for your custom network, and "Desired Password" with a password that's a little harder to guess.
Still at the command line, type
netsh wlan start hostednetwork
and press [Enter] to Start up the virtual adapter.
Now click Control Panel > Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Centre > Change Adapter Settings, right-click your internet connection and select Properties. Click the Sharing tab, check "Allow other network users to connect...", choose your virtual Wi-Fi adaptor - and that's it.
Any nearby Wi-Fi enabled device should see a new network appear with the SSID you defined above. They'll be able to connect to it using your password, and can then immediately share your internet connection.
Intel's latest 32-bit and 64-bit drivers now include support, as do various others for Atheros, Broadcom, Realtek and other big players, but these don't apply to every chipset. Check the support site for your wireless adapter to see what's available.
If you're in luck and manage to find and install an up-to-date Windows 7 driver for your adapter, then the next step is to set it up, and for that you'll need an elevated command prompt. Click Start, type CMD, right-click the Cmd.exe link and select "Run as Administrator".
Now type the following command:
netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode=allow ssid="Name" key="Desired Password"
and press [Enter]. Replace "Name" with the name you'd like to use for your custom network, and "Desired Password" with a password that's a little harder to guess.
Still at the command line, type
netsh wlan start hostednetwork
and press [Enter] to Start up the virtual adapter.
Now click Control Panel > Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Centre > Change Adapter Settings, right-click your internet connection and select Properties. Click the Sharing tab, check "Allow other network users to connect...", choose your virtual Wi-Fi adaptor - and that's it.
Any nearby Wi-Fi enabled device should see a new network appear with the SSID you defined above. They'll be able to connect to it using your password, and can then immediately share your internet connection.
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