Free virtual router for distributing wi-fi from any computer. Creating a computer network How to create a virtual wifi adapter

In order to distribute the Internet via Wi-Fi, you need a router - a special device. But in most cases, especially at home, you can not even buy it, but turn any computer into a router. All you need for this is a computer with a built-in or external wi-fi adapter and a small program called Virtual Router Plus - a free virtual router.

Thanks to a virtual router, you can distribute wi-fi to all devices in the immediate area - computers, laptops, tablets, smartphones, anything that can receive a signal.

Virtual Router Plus – free virtual router

Virtual Router Plus is a free virtual router in Russian. Thanks to it, any computer with a Wi-Fi adapter can distribute the Internet to other devices that can receive a Wi-Fi signal.

Virtual Router Plus is lightweight, easy to use, has a clear interface, stability, and does not load the system. This is one of the simplest and most intuitive programs for creating a wi-fi point on a computer.

Virtual Router Plus Interface

When you run this program, a window will open in front of you. You need to fill in the following information:

• Network name (SSID). Write down what your wi-fi network will be called. I do not recommend using Cyrillic.
• Password. Create a password to prevent your neighbors from stealing your Internet.
• General connection. Select from the list the Internet connection that you want to distribute through this virtual router. If the required connection is not in the list, then click the “Update” button next to it.

When all the data is filled in, click on the “Launch virtual router plus” button. When Wi-Fi starts to work, you will see a message in the system tray. After this, you can try to connect to the Internet using a variety of devices.

Hello admin, I have a laptop at home and local Internet is connected to it"Beeline" , the children also have another laptop, tablet and smartphone, the question is, can I use some program to distribute Wi-Fi Internet from the laptop, that is, use the laptop as a router, which, as you understand, I don’t have?

On the global network there is a description of working with the Virtual Router Plus program, I do everything as it is written there, but the laptop does not distribute Wi-Fi, either I did not understand something or something important was missed in the article.

How to distribute Wi-Fi Internet from a laptop or how to use Virtual Router Plus and Connectify Hotspot 2015 programs

Hello friends! Even in the absence of a router, it is possible to create a virtual Wi-Fi network using a regular laptop, because, after all, we live in the wireless era.

Creating a Wi-Fi network on a laptop is very simple using a special program. There are two very good free utilities that can help us in this matter: Virtual Router Plus And Connectify Hotspot 2015, but if don't know one thing, then you won’t succeed, I’ll definitely tell you about him.

First of all, let's connect our laptop to the Internet using a cable. I also don’t have a router and I connect my laptop to the Internet using the Beeline provider.

In network connections, both network adapters must be enabled: Ethernet adapter and adapter wireless network.

Now let's get down to our programs.

Virtual Router Plus

Cool program that works without installation, you can download it on my Yandex.Disk.

Extract the folder with the program from the archive and run the executable file VirtualRouterPlus.exe.

We set up the program and fill in all the fields.

Network Name (SSID)– come up with a name for your wireless network, for example I’ll call it renontcompa.ru.

Password– the password for the wireless network must be at least 8 characters and in English, but come up with a password so as not to forget.

Shared Connection– select from the list the name of the connection that supplies the Internet locally to the laptop, in my case Beeline Internet, since I don’t have a router. In your case, if the laptop is connected using a LAN cable to the router, it may just be Ethernet (Local Area Connection).

That's all the settings, click on the button Start Virtual Router Plus.

Virtual Router Plus is up and running,

but there is one more setting left. Let's go to the folder Network and Sharing Center.

Change adapter settings

The folder opens Network connections. ABOUT pay attention, it has appeared LAN connection 15(in your case it may be called differently) it is created by the program itself Virtual Router Plus.

Here, friends, the most important thing is don’t miss anything!

1. Please note that in my Network Connections folder there is an icon Beeline Internet, this means that I do not have a router and an Internet cable (WAN) from the Beeline provider from the corridor is directly connected to the laptop. In your case there may be an icon from another provider.

2. But if you have a router, then there will be no provider icon, but just an icon LAN connection or Ethernet.

In short, if you have a router, right-click on the icon"Local Area Connection" or "Ethernet" and select Properties.

If you don’t have a router, right-click on the icon of your provider (in my case) “Beeline Internet” and also select Properties

Let's go to the tab Access. Connecting a home network: click on the arrow and select LAN connection* 15(in your case the name may be different).

Check the boxAllow other network users to use this computer's Internet connection and press OK.

Now our laptop distributes the Internet and to connect to it (as to a router), you just need to left-click on the Network icon on another laptop

We select our wireless network (for example, I called renontcompa.ru) and click Connect

Connected.

Open the browser and we are on the Internet

So, we distributed Wi-Fi Internet from a laptop and connected another laptop to the resulting wireless network.

For example, let’s connect another tablet to our virtual network

Settings

Wireless WLANs

Choosing our network site

Enter the password and click Connect

Connected

Open the browser and go online

I want to say that with a router, of course, everything will be cooler and faster, but in some cases the ability to use this program can be useful.

Virtual router manager is designed to help if you do not have a real wi-fi router, but you need to distribute one. Its main task is to simulate a wi-fi router, so you can forget about any wires and inconveniences. The program is reliable and licensed, there are no viruses in it, and you can download virtual router manager completely free of charge. The program is compatible with the Microsoft Windows XP, Seven and higher operating systems.

What devices is the program compatible with?

The key condition for the correct operation of the program is the presence of wi-fi on the distributing and receiving devices. Receiving devices can be: iPhone, iPod Touch, netbooks, laptops, audio devices, wireless multifunction devices, smartphones, Android phones or Zune and others. The distribution device (usually a computer) on which the program is installed must have a wi-fi adapter.

Where can I download Virtual Router?

You can download virtual router manager on the official website or on torrents. Please note that the file must only have the extension ".exe" or ".msi". Anyone can set up the program, even without reading the instructions. Using the program is even easier than installing it.

How to get started with virtual router manager?

To distribute wifi on Windows you will need to perform the simplest manipulations:

• indicate the name of your network correctly;
• enter password;
• Click on the “Start” button.

Entering a password is necessary for the security of the transmitted data, so that another person cannot unauthorizedly connect to your virtual distribution. All devices that you connect via virtual wifi will be displayed in the program window. If necessary, you can even find out the IP and MAC addresses of each device by looking at them in the program window.

Working with the program

At its core, the Russian version of the virtual router manager is a shell, that is, it is capable of performing all the settings for you. To gain access via wifi, just launch the program and then minimize it to tray. With these actions, every time you turn on the computer, it will automatically start.

Setting up the program

The setting comes down to filling or selecting in 4 lines:

• to create a wifi network, you need to come up with any name for it in the top field;
• in the next field we come up with a password consisting of at least 8 characters;
• in the “Shared Connection” drop-down menu, select the connection through which the computer connects to the Internet;
• In the bottom drop-down menu, select the desired connection type.

Press the central button “Start Virtual Router” - the settings are completed. In the same settings window you will see “Peers Connected”, where all connected portable devices will be displayed to which wifi will be distributed.

How to choose the right connection type?

In order to competently create a wifi network, you need to select the desired type of connection - this is important! There are two modes: access point or ad hoc.

• Ad hoc. This mode provides a point-to-point connection. Translated into simple language, only one device can be connected to a virtual router.
• access point. This mode will allow you to connect a large number of receiving devices to the “access point” (wi-fi distributing device). Possible problems and their elimination

Let's imagine this situation: at home you have a laptop or computer running Windows 10 with Internet access (via cable or USB modem), and in addition you have a tablet, smartphone, TV, etc., which would also be nice connecting to the Internet, of course, if you had a Wi-Fi router, this would not be difficult, but what to do when there are a lot of devices, there is no router, and everyone wants to connect to the Internet.

There is a way out; you can set up Internet distribution via Wi-Fi directly from a laptop or from a desktop PC (provided it has a discrete or external Wi-Fi adapter) - i.e. create a virtual access point (Hot Spot), essentially turning your computer into a Wi-Fi router.

All this, of course, can be implemented using standard Windows tools (), but for most people it will not be so easy to understand all the intricacies of such a setup, so to distribute the Internet via Wi-Fi it would be much more convenient to use the free Switch Virtual Router program, which will help It is easy for every PC user to create and run a virtual access point.

Setting up the program

• Download the program via a direct link;
• No installation is required, just extract the files from the archive (for example, using an archiver or);
• Run VirtualRouterPlus.exe;
• Fill in the Network Name (SSID) field – you can come up with any name, in our example “alpinefile”;
• Password – set a password, a combination of letters (Latin) and numbers, but, of course, it’s better not to enter a password like ours “12345678”, come up with something more complicated;

• The program is up and running, but that's not all;

• On the left side of the window, click “Change adapter settings”;

• In the window that opens, select the main wireless connection, right-click on it, then “Properties”;
• Open the “Access” tab, check the box next to the item: “Allow other network users to use this computer’s connection”, then in “Home network connection” select “Local Area Connection* 3” (created by the Virtual Router Plus program, your name may differ ). The order of the above actions is presented in the screenshot;

• That's all, now we can distribute the Internet via Wi-Fi and without a router.

Possible problems during setup

If you did everything according to the instructions, the program works correctly, as evidenced by this icon in the notification area,

but there is no connection, then, with a high degree of probability, it can be argued that the connection is blocked by a firewall installed in the anti-virus program (Dr.Web, for example, does exactly this). Therefore, do not forget, if necessary, to add the created Internet connection to the exceptions of your antivirus software.

Now it is difficult to imagine how you can do without the use of wireless networks. The discovery of wireless networking technology made a significant contribution to the industry and changed the way we use the personal computer. Virtual Wi-Fi is a software layer that abstracts the wireless network card and creates multiple virtual adapters. What can this technology be useful for?

Over the course of their existence, wireless networks (Wireless Local Area Network-WLAN) have gone through many changes that affected security, range and speed, but the basic principles of operation have remained unchanged.

Wireless networks can operate in two modes: when two or more devices are connected directly to each other - point-to-point, or when they are connected through an access point (Access Point-AP). In the first case, they talk about a simple network (ad-hoc mode). The use of this operating mode is quite rare and is used mainly for data exchange when it is not possible to use an access point. The second mode, using an access point, is called infrastructure mode and in most cases is used in conjunction with a wireless router that is connected to the Internet. But using two operating modes simultaneously on one physical wireless adapter is not provided for by the Wi-Fi concept itself.

In search of new ways to use wireless networks, the concept of virtualization has been proposed, which removes certain restrictions on the use of such networks and thereby expands their capabilities. This approach to using wireless adapters has been implemented by several companies with corresponding technology names. At Intel, it's Intel My WiFi, and at Microsoft, it's Virtual WiFi.

Virtual Wi-Fi is a software layer that abstracts the wireless network card and creates multiple virtual adapters. Each virtual adapter can be separately configured to connect to different wireless networks, but they will all use the resources of only one physical wireless adapter.

What can this technology be useful for? For example, creating a personal network (Wireless Personal Area Network - WPAN) in which you can quickly connect a PDA, phone, printer, camera, laptop and other device with a wireless adapter for simple information exchange; use a laptop as a hotspot to provide Internet access to wireless devices using an Internet connection on the laptop, be it Ethernet, Wi-Fi, 3G or WiMax. Another example would be when the radio signal is not stable enough or does not cover the required distance between the access point and wireless devices. In this case, a computer or laptop with Virtual Wi-Fi technology can act as a repeater, thereby improving the radio coverage of the wireless network.

In Windows 7 and Windows 2008 R2, Virtual WiFi technology was included in the system and implemented at the kernel level, in addition, work was done on a simple implementation of a Software Access Point (SoftAP), while from wireless device manufacturers, Now you only need to implement SoftAP support in your drivers. In this regard, in the current implementation of Virtual WiFi in Windows 2008 R2, it is possible to create only one virtual adapter that will only work in access point mode, while providing WPA2-PSK-AES encryption.

By the way, support for Virtual WiFi in drivers is a mandatory requirement for certification of wireless adapters for compatibility with Windows 7.

Virtual WiFi is designated as Wireless Hosted Network, in Russian designation as Hosted Network. In connection with the introduction of Virtual WiFi into new operating systems from Microsoft, new commands have been included in the network shell for managing a distributed network. Here are some of them:

• netsh wlan set hostednetwork allowed/disallowed - Allow or deny use of the network.
• netsh wlan set hostednetwork<идентификатор_SSID> <парольная_фраза>persistent/temporary - Configure network parameters, where SSID is the network SSID; Key - User security key used by the network; keyUsage indicates the security key is permanent or temporary
• netsh wlan show settings - Shows the network property and its status.
• netsh wlan show hostednetwork settings=security - Displays the security settings of the hosted network. (Shows, including the password specified in key when setting up netsh wlan set hostednetwork)
• netsh wlan start hostednetwork - Start hosted network.
• netsh wlan stop hostednetwork - Stop network hosting.

What does setting up Virtual Wi-Fi look like in practice: we need a laptop or regular personal computer with wireless devices, and a driver that supports Virtual WiFi.

If the above described criteria are met, then call the command line with administrator rights and run the following command in it:

netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode=allow ssid="MS Virtual Wi-Fi" key="Pass for virtual wifi" keyUsage=persistent

In this example, “MS Virtual Wi-Fi” is the name of the wireless network, “Pass for virtual wifi” is the password to access this network. You can set these values ​​at your discretion.

After executing this command, the system will find new equipment and a new network adapter will appear in the device manager, or rather a virtual one - Microsoft Virtual WiFi miniport adapter. But again, this virtual adapter will only appear if our wireless adapter driver supports Virtual WiFi.

By going to Control Panel - Network and Sharing Center - changing adapter settings, we will see a new connection, Wireless Network Connection 2, which will show the status - no connection. Therefore, the next step will be to launch the network. To do this, in a command prompt run with administrator rights, run the following command:

netsh wlan start hostednetwork.

After this, the network will start and the software access point (SoftAP) will work. You can verify this by going to Control Panel - Network and Sharing Center. Since we use a Wi-Fi Internet connection, we found that Windows 7 was connected to several wireless networks at the same time. Now other wireless devices can connect to our access point.

If we want to provide access to the Internet to other wireless devices that are connected to our software access point, that is, to organize a Hotspot, then we need to go to the Control Panel tab - Network and Sharing Center - changing adapter parameters and connection properties , which is connected to the Internet (in our case, this is a Wi-Fi connection, but it can be anything: ethernet, 3G, WiMax, etc.). On the access tab, check the Allow other network users to use the Internet connection of this computer, and in Connecting a home network, specify which network adapter to provide (share) the Internet to, in our case, it will be Wireless Network Connection 2, which refers to the virtual wireless adapter.

On the client side, you can see several wireless networks, and when connecting to our organized access point, the client will automatically receive an IP address from the internal DHCP server and will be separated from the external network by NAT (Network address translation).

The convenience of using Virtual Wi-Fi is obvious, but using the command line to configure and start the network (and you need to start the hosted network every time after rebooting the computer with administrator rights) is not entirely convenient. And, unfortunately, there is no built-in graphical shell for setting up Virtual WiFi. Therefore, it is not surprising that third-party utilities appear that perform the function of this very shell. Now there are several such utilities - Connectify and Virtual Router Manager. Their configuration is kept to a minimum - you need to specify the SSID and password for access. They are loaded along with the system and immediately enable the distributed network and are able to display all connections to our distributed network.

Connectify