Turn your Laptop into a WiFi HotSpot and Share Internet of any 3G USB Dongle
If you have a wired broadband connection and have more than one internet-capable device it can sometimes be a bit of a pain having to disconnect it from one and connect to another. Using all of your devices on the same internet connection is now easy with a piece of software called Connectify. It makes your laptop into a Wi-Fi hotspot, thus making it easy to share your connection, whether it’s wireless or wired, between multiple Wi-Fi devices. You don’t need to go out and buy another router and Connectify itself is extremely easy to use.
It works on laptops that are running Windows XP, Vista, 7 or 8 although for XP and Vista it only works on an Ad-Hoc mode. We are going to show you how to use Connectify to create your very own virtual hotspot. First of all, decide which version of Connectify you want – choose from Lite which is free or Pro which is a premium service. If you really only want to share your wired internet connection then go for the Lite version.
- Download Connectify here
- Install it and restart your computer
- You should now see a Connectify icon on your taskbar, click to open it.
- You will now see a Settings pane. Here you need to enter certain details. Give your Hotspot a name and set up a password
- Now you need to select the connection you want share – if you are using Lite you can only select Wired Internet device/connection whereas the Pro version will allow you to share a 3G or 4G wireless connection.
- When you have filled in all the details click on Apply Setting. This will start the hotspot.
- Now you can go ahead and connect all of your internet-enabled devices to the Hotspot and you can also set up secure networks, using WEP or WPA2 encryption.v
If you click on the Clients tab you will see a list of all of your connected devices and, from here, you can control access for each individual device. If you have the Pro version you can even give all your devices names.
Features of Pro Version :
Another good feature of Connectify Pro is the ability to share files through the drag and drop method if you want to share a file with another device on your network. If the other device is also running Connectify an accept or reject screen will appear, if it isn’t then files can be transferred by entering the IP address into your web browser. No matter which version you are using, all devices connected to the Hotspot can talk to each other so there is no need to buy any extra cables.
Why not just buy a wireless router ?
Connectify has advantages that far outweigh the use of a wireless router. For a start it’s portable and can be used anywhere – you can’t take your router with you when you go out. There’s no limit on the amount of devices that can be placed on each connection. And it’s a lot cheaper – Lite is free and the Pro version costs just $29.99. The only downside is that the laptop or desktop running Connectify has to be kept switched on for the other devices to pick up the connection.
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