Native Virtual WiFi Technology in Windows 7 Turns Your Computer to a Hot Spot

Connectify, a software that turns Windows 7 laptop into a WiFi hotspot, recently opened their first beta of this software to public, which caused quite a buzz on Internet that almost everyone jumps in and cheers for it.

While the beta is currently free to download for everyone, according to TechSpot, Nomadio, a military consulting firm that developed the software, expects to charge users for a fee once the final version is released in about 6 weeks. However, a free, ad-supported version might also be available.

But wait, if thatâ€™s the case, do we really need a tool that does something that is already baked in the system?

Connectify is a software that interacts with Windows 7 native built-in Virtual WiFi technology but with a nicer user interface. Yes, it does make the work easier but frankly what it offers has no addition to what Windows 7 already has. If you can know how to open Command Prompt window, you can do it yourself, without paying a buck, by just following these three simple steps,

STEP 1: Configure the "hosted" interface:
netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode=allow ssid=Test key=letmein9

STEP 2: Configure Internet Connection Sharing (ICS)
Open up the networking control panel. Select the interface that currently has Internet connection (like your Ethernet or normal wifi), enable "Sharing", and then select the special "hosted" interface.

STEP 3: Start it
netsh wlan start hostednetwork

But if thatâ€™s a feature that comes with Windows 7 how come I havenâ€™t seen it on my computer? The feature actually has been craft by Microsoft Research for a few years apparently, but hasnâ€™t been exposed to the public due to a lack of driver support. The good news is that with Virtual WiFi functionality required for WLAN drivers under the Windows 7 certification logo we will be seeing a lot more later on.

And because of this limitation that requires a Virtual WiFi compliant driver, not all Wireless devices will work with either natively in Windows 7 or Connectify which has a list of devices supported on its website. If your device are not compatible, you wonâ€™t be able to see it in Network Connection, nor be able to use Connectify to make the hotspot. You may want to check the latest driver from the vendor. You may be surprised.