Free virtual router for distributing wi-fi from any computer. Free virtual router for distributing wi-fi from any computer Removing an access point

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

There is a way out, you can configure the distribution of the Internet via Wi-Fi directly from a laptop or from a stationary PC (provided that 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 done using staff funds Windows (), but for most people it will not be so easy to understand all the intricacies of such a setting, so it would be much more convenient to use free program Switch Virtual Router, which will help every PC user to easily create and run a virtual access point.

Program setting

• Download the program via a direct link;
• Installation is not required, it is enough to extract 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 is better not to enter a password like ours "12345678", think of something more complicated;

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

• In the left part of the window, click "Change adapter parameters";

• In the window that opens, select the main wireless connection, click on it with the right mouse button, then "Properties";
• Open the "Access" tab, check the box next to the item: "Allow other network users to use the connection this computer", Then in" Connection home network"Select" Connection by local network* 3 ”(created by Virtual Router Plus, your name may differ). The order of the above actions is shown in the screenshot;

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

Possible setup problems

If you did everything according to the instructions, the program works correctly, as evidenced by such an 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 the firewall installed in the system antivirus software(Dr.Web, for example, does just that). Therefore, do not forget, if necessary, to add the created Internet connection to the exclusions of your antivirus software.

Simple and convenient program to distribute the Internet through Wi-Fi computer or laptop. Those. the program will help you create a virtual access point from Wi-Fi adapter and your device and will allow you to connect to it from your phone, tablet or TV. Naturally, the Internet to your PC or laptop should come through a different network connection, from where it will be distributed. The program is absolutely free and has Russian language support.

Setting up the program does not raise any special questions, but if you could not figure it out, then see the instructions below, which shows all the details of setting up the program for distributing "Wi-Fi" from a computer. I will try to describe the setting as much as possible understandable language even for the most novice users.

1. First you need to make sure that the Wi-Fi adapter is working correctly. In the device manager, we check for the presence of drivers for the device. Figure below.

2. Download the Switch Virtual Router program from the link below or from the official website.

3. Install the program and run it. In the settings on the right, we indicate Russian Interface language.

On the left, write an arbitrary name for your virtual network and an arbitrary password (at least 8 characters).

Click Apply and OK. The main window of the program is shown. At the top right, press the arrow and it appears additional customization... Here in the Drop-down list, select the wireless connection and click OK. Use the same button to minimize this menu.

4. Then you can press start and your WiFi router, but the Internet will not be there. This can be seen by clicking on the "network indicator" in the system tray. In the window that appears, we see that our virtual network does not have access to the Internet.

5. Go to Network Control Center and general access by clicking on the inscription at the bottom.

We see that the Internet comes from me through a cable connection with the name DIR-632. And our virtual network SVR site has a connection name -. (Your name may be different, it doesn't matter). We just remember it and click on the inscription “ LAN connection"On the connection through which the Internet comes to the computer. The window below appears.

Click on the button Properties and a new window of network settings appears.

Next, click on the tab Access(top of the window). In this tab, put a check mark in the menu "Allow other network users to use the Internet connection of this computer." Below we choose the name of our wireless connection, we had it and Wireless network connection 4 click OK.

After that, if you click again in the tray on the "network connections icon", we will see that our network already has access to the Internet.

Now we need to restart our virtual router in order for the Internet to appear in it. After that, you can connect from it through any smart, tablet, laptop, TV and use this Internet.

If you have any questions, be sure to write about them in the comments, he will deal with them.

We remind you that attempts to repeat the actions of the author may lead to the loss of the warranty for the equipment and even to its failure. The material is provided for informational purposes only. If you are going to reproduce the steps described below, we strongly advise you to carefully read the article to the end at least once. 3DNews editors are not responsible for any possible consequences.

In the case of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 is just one of many innovations that went almost unnoticed, although materials on this topic on the Internet are extremely easy to find. Strictly speaking, the Wi-Fi specification implies that the network operates in two main modes - either point-to-point (ad-hoc mode), when all clients connect to each other, or in access point mode (infrastructure mode), when data exchange between two hosts goes through the third side. It is theoretically impossible to operate one physical adapter simultaneously in these two modes.

In practice, Microsoft decided to turn its gaze to the now fashionable virtualization technologies and created a layer that abstracts the wireless adapter. In fact, we can have in the system, as it were, several Wi-Fi modules, each with its own settings, which in reality use the resources of only one physical device. This subsystem is called Virtual Wi-Fi. There is a similar development for Intel- Intel MyFi (My Wi-Fi). We will not go into the technical details of the implementation of each of the technologies - it is important for us that we can make the adapter work in the mode of a software access point, Software Access Point (SoftAP).

So why would you need SoftAP? First, to quickly organize a local wireless network to which you can connect another computer, smartphone, and so on. Secondly, we can distribute the Internet from the main machine inside our small network. In this case, clients will be behind NAT. It doesn't matter how we access the Network on a machine with SoftAP - via Ethernet, WiMax, 3G, Dial-Up (anything can happen) or something else. It is noteworthy that the computer can be connected to a wireless network and at the same time be an access point.

Thus, it is easy to create a repeater by placing a laptop at the reception edge of the main wireless network and setting the same SoftAP parameters as the parent access point. Thus, we will expand the range of the network, and all clients, if necessary, will automatically reconnect to the repeater and vice versa. Another possibility is to easily "enter" the traffic of wireless clients to any available network interface, for example, to a VPN tunnel. There are other possibilities for using a software access point that go beyond the moral boundaries of our headings.

To implement SoftAP, we need a Wi-Fi adapter whose drivers support this mode. In principle, almost all modern wireless modules built-in or external have this capability. What's more, Virtual Wi-Fi support is one of the mandatory conditions to get the adapter into the list of certified compatible devices for Windows 7. Do not be too lazy to find out this point before starting the configuration and update, just in case, the drivers from the official website of the manufacturer of the Wi-Fi module. However, in most cases, the driver that "arrived" along with system updates will work as expected. Unfortunately (not very big, though), now we can create only one virtual access point with mandatory WPA2-PSK / AES encryption.

In order to create an access point, it is enough to start the console (command line) as administrator and execute one single command:

netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode = allow ssid = "SoftAP Tst" key = "Yourpassword" keyUsage = persistent

Naturally, in the ssid parameter, you must specify the name of the access point, and in the key, specify the password for accessing the network. In the future, you can change the AP parameters in the same way. After executing the command, the OS will install required driver and the Virtual Wi-Fi we need will appear in the list of wireless adapters. To remove an adapter, specify mode = disallow in the command and omit all other parameters.

Now you can start the point with the command:

netsh wlan start hostednetwork

To stop working, change the start parameter to stop in the command in a logical way.

It is highly not recommended during operation in the modeSoftAP disable physical adapterWi-Fi, for example pull it outUSB port - this can lead to an abnormal shutdown of the OS !!!

To view current parameters virtual access point, you can use the commands:

netsh wlan show settings

netsh wlan show hostednetwork setting = security

When SoftAP starts, the built-in DHCP server will automatically start. To "share" the Internet connection for users of the newly created wireless network, you need to go to the "Sharing" tab in the properties of the network interface that has access to the Network. There you need to enable Network Sharing permission and select our virtual adapter in SoftAP mode.

To simplify the work with the software access point, two programs can be advised: VirtualRouter and Connectify. The first one is absolutely free, but a little outdated and does not always work out of the box, and the second one asks you to pay money for access to some functions. However, it's worth it. The utility's functionality far exceeds the built-in capabilities of the OS for working with virtual point access. It has an UpnP server, it allows you to choose a different type of encryption, has more convenient management of wireless clients, and much, much more. In general, a real little software monster for organizing a hot spot. If you really need this kind of advanced functionality, then $ 30 a year doesn't seem like a lot of money. You can also create a Soft AP on Linux or Mac OS X. True, in the first case, you will have to tinker with the settings, and there will be less opportunities than in Windows 7. In the second case, in the best traditions of Apple's OS, everything is done elementary. In addition, with the advent of AirDrop and AirPlay, the exchange of information between i-devices has become much easier. On this, as they say on your Internet, we will consider the topic uncovered. Good luck!

Now it is difficult to imagine how you can do without using wireless networks... The discovery of wireless networking technology has made significant contributions to the industry and has changed the way the personal computer is used. 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?

Throughout its existence, wireless networks (Wireless Local Area Network-WLAN) have gone through many changes that have 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, one speaks of 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 the use of two modes of operation at the same time on one physical wireless adapter is not provided for by the very concept of Wi-Fi.

In search of new ways to use wireless networks, the concept of virtualization was proposed, which removes certain restrictions on the use of such networks and thereby expands their capabilities. This approach The use of 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 all of them will use the resources of only one physical wireless adapter.

What can this technology be useful for? For example, the creation of 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 exchange of information; use a laptop as a hotspot (Hotspot) to provide access to the Internet wireless devices using an internet connection on your laptop, at least Ethernet, Wi-Fi, 3G or WiMax. Another example could be when the radio signal is not stable enough or does not cover the required distance between the access point and the 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 manufacturers, now you only need to implement SoftAP support in your drivers. In this regard, in the current implementation of Virtual WiFi in and Windows 2008 R2, it is possible to create only one virtual adapter, which will work only in the 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 a Hosted Network. In connection with the introduction of Virtual WiFi in new operating systems from Microsoft, new commands have been included in the network shell to control the 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 SSID of the network; Key- Key user security used by the network; keyUsage specifies the security key to be permanent or temporary
• netsh wlan show settings - Shows the network property and its state.
• netsh wlan show hostednetwork settings = security - Displays the security settings for the hosted network. (Shows, including the password specified in the key when configuring netsh wlan set hostednetwork)
• netsh wlan start hostednetwork - Start hostednetwork.
• netsh wlan stop hostednetwork - Stop hosted network.

How it looks like setting up Virtual Wi-Fi in practice: we need a laptop or a regular one Personal Computer with wireless devices, and a driver supporting Virtual WiFi.

If the above criteria are met, then we call the command line, with administrator rights and execute 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 for accessing this network. You can set these values ​​as you like.

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

Going to Control Panel - Network and Sharing Center - change adapter parameters, we will see a new Wireless Network Connection 2 connection, which will show the status - no connection. Therefore, the next step will be to launch the network. To do this, you need to run the command in the command line running with administrator rights:

netsh wlan start hostednetwork.

The network will then start up and the SoftAP will work. You can verify this by going to Control Panel - Network and Sharing Center. Since we are using a Wi-Fi internet connection, we found that Windows 7 is connected to multiple wireless networks at the same time. Now other wireless devices can connect to our hotspot.

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 - change 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 box Allow other network users to use the Internet connection of this computer, and in the Home network connection indicate which network adapter to provide (share) the Internet, in our case, it will be Wireless Network Connection 2, which refers to virtual wireless adapter.

From the client's 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 external network NAT (Network address translation).

The convenience of using Virtual Wi-Fi is obvious, but using the command line to configure and launch a network (and you need to launch a mixed network every time you restart your computer with administrator rights) is not very convenient. Unfortunately, there is no built-in graphical shell for configuring Virtual WiFi. Therefore, it is not surprising that third party utilities, which perform the function of this very shell. Now there are several such utilities - these are Connectify and Virtual Router Manager. Their configuration is minimized - you need to specify the SSID and password for access. They are loaded with the system and immediately provide the inclusion of a distributed network and are able to display all connections to our distributed network.

Connectify

Nowadays, wireless networks are becoming more widespread: they work at train stations, airports, enterprises, and for many users at home. In Windows 7, there was such an option as "virtual WiFi" (Virtual WiFi) - a software layer that creates a wireless network card multiple virtual adapters. But first, a little theory.

Wireless networks can operate in two modes

The devices are connected directly to each other. It turns out simple network(ad-hoc mode). This mode is called point-to-point. This mode is used quite rarely and, mainly, for data exchange in the case when it is not possible to use an access point.

The devices are connected via an Access Point-AP. This mode is called Infrastructure Mode and is usually used in conjunction with a wireless router connected to the Internet.

It should be noted that the simultaneous use of two modes of operation of a wireless network on one physical wireless adapter is not provided for by the very concept of WiFi, and this is where the virtualization technology used in Windows 7, which extends the capabilities of adapters, came to the rescue.

What is Virtual WiFi technology

Without going into technical details: in Windows 7, one physical wireless adapter can be turned into several virtual ones, and - attention! - Each of these virtual adapters can be configured to connect to a different wireless network.

What is it for

Hmm ... The question, of course, is an interesting one. P Example one: the radio signal from an existing access point does not cover the required distance between it and wireless devices. In this case, a computer or laptop with Virtual WiFi can act as a repeater (repeater), expanding the coverage of the wireless network.

Example two: creating a personal network (Wireless Personal Area Network), to which you can very quickly connect a phone, camera, printer, laptop or any other device with a wireless adapter for simple exchange of information.

Example three: an existing wireless network - with static IP-addresses of devices, but sometimes you need to quickly connect new devices, and without any adjustments-rebuilding (this can be done if the dynamic IP-addresses allocation mode was enabled. But alas) ...

How Virtual WiFi is Implemented in Windows 7

By the way: Virtual WiFi technology is included not only in Windows 7, but also in Windows 2008 R2.p Virtual WiFi is implemented in the operating system at the kernel level and allows a very simple implementation of a software access point (SoftAP), while only one thing is to implement SoftAP support in their drivers (by the way, many have already done this). So far - in the current implementation - Virtual WiFi has the following restrictions: it is allowed to create only one virtual adapter that works only in the access point mode and only with WPA2-PSK / AES encryption By the way, Virtual WiFi technology allows you to connect up to 100 clients to the access point against 8 clients in a promoted corporation Intel technology My WiFi.

Installing, enabling and configuring Virtual WiFi

Testing of Virtual WiFi - installing, enabling and configuring a wireless network - was carried out at ASUS netbook eeePC 1000H with built-in WiFi Ralink adapter.

So, first you have to "tinker" a little - call the command line with administrator rights and enter the following command:

netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode = allow ssid = "MS Virtual WiFi" key = "softodrom" keyUsage = persistent

"MS Virtual WiFi" here is the name (SSID) of the virtual network being created, and "softodrom" is the password for accessing the network. Of course, both of these parameters can be changed at your own discretion.

The last parameter - keyUsage = persistent - specifies that the password will be saved and will not have to be specified every time you need to start the virtual network.

After executing this command, the system detects new hardware and a new network adapter appears in Device Manager called Microsoft Virtual WiFi miniport adapter.

As a clarification: of course, the virtual adapter will appear in the Device Manager only if the driver of the wireless adapter you have installed has support for Virtual WiFi technology.

For greater reliability, let's take a look at Control Panel -> Network and Sharing Center -> Change adapter settings:

As you can see, a new connection "Wireless network connection 2" with the status "No connection" has appeared here (it is already in the picture. More on that below).

Let's move on to launching the network. In the command line launched with administrator rights, run the following command:

After that, a) the network will start (Microsoft called it "Hosted Network") and b) the software access point will work, which can be verified by going to Control Panel -> Network and Sharing Center.

As we can see, the computer is connected to several wireless networks at the same time, and now other wireless devices can connect to our newly created software access point.

To provide Internet access to other wireless devices that will connect to our software access point, go to the Control Panel tab -> Network and Sharing Center -> Change adapter settings and in the properties of the adapter through which the computer - in our case eeePC netbook - gets access to the Internet (we have this connection via WiFi, but it can be any of the available ones - Ethernet, WiMax, 3G, etc.) in the "access" tab, check the box "Allow other network users to use the Internet connection this computer. "

In addition, in the "Home network connection" you need to specify which network adapter - in our case it is "Wireless network connection 2" - you should provide the Internet.

Finally, about the client. From the client's side, several wireless networks will be visible, and when connected to an organized access point (previously we assigned it SSID = MS Virtual WiFi), the client will automatically receive an IP address from the internal DHCP server, gain access to the Internet, and at the same time will be separated from the external NAT (Network Address Translation) networks.

As clients in the test we used a laptop and mobile phone with WiFi support; in both cases, access to the Internet via a virtual WiFi network did not cause any difficulty.

Simplifying WiFi virtual network management

Despite the obvious advantages of Virtual WiFi, it is not convenient and familiar to use the command line to configure and launch the network for windows users who are accustomed to pressing buttons, especially since the network will have to be started every time after restarting the computer, as well as waking it up from sleep or standby mode.

Built-in graphical interface for Virtual WiFi in the operating system, alas, no, but, as always in such cases, third-party developers came to the rescue. graphical shells to Virtual WiFi - Connectify and. We recommend the second one, and not for any of its software advantages, but simply because in order to download Connectify, you will first have to register on its developer's website, and Virtual Router Manager does not require this.

The principle of using both utilities is very simple: in the corresponding fields, you need to specify the SSID of the network and the password for access and click on the Start button, after which the program will start loading along with the launch operating system, ensuring the launch of the virtual network. In addition, both the Connectify and Virtual Router Manager utilities show the current connections to the virtual network.

Commands for managing a hosted network

Finally for connoisseurs command line- new commands for managing the hosted network, introduced in Windows 7 and Windows 2008 R2:

netsh wlan set hostednetwork allowed / disallowed

Allow or deny the use of the network

netsh wlan set hostednetwork<идентификатор_SSID>
<парольная_фраза>persistent / temporary

Configuring network parameters, where SSID is the SSID of the network; key - the security key (password) used by the network; keyUsage - Indicates whether the security key is permanent or temporary

netsh wlan show settings

Shows network properties and status

netsh wlan show hostednetwork settings = security

Displays the security settings of the hosted network, including the password specified in key when configuring netsh wlan set hostednetwork

netsh wlan start hostednetwork

Launch hosted network

netsh wlan stop hostednetwork

Stop hosted network.