It wasn't all that long ago that Microsoft was talking up the
Virtual WiFi feature developed by Microsoft Research and set for inclusion in
Windows 7, but something got lost along the road to release day, and the functionality never officially made it into the OS. As you might expect with anything as big and complicated as an operating system though, some of that code did make it into the final release, and there was apparently enough of it for the folks at Nomadio to exploit into a full fledged feature. That's now become Connectify, a free application from the company that effectively turns any Windows 7 computer into a virtual WiFi hotspot -- letting you, for instance, wirelessly tether a number of devices to your laptop at location where only an Ethernet jack is available, or even tether a number of laptops together at a coffee shop that chargers for WiFi. Intrigued? Hit up the link below to grab the beta.
posted Nov 2nd 2009 2:19AM
This could eat into router business; have a desktop PC connected to the modem, and use it as a wireless router. Interesting...
This has pretty much always been possible and isn't anything new with this. You can do this right now on XP. You won't get the distance or features a router will give you though.
Just to add to that. What really makes this special is the ability to connect to a Wireless network while also sharing it wirelessly with one WiFi card.
Still nice to have a hardware firewall in front of your first box. I'd rather have hackers banging at my NAT router than my main PC even if it does have a software firewall.
@Bootes
I was going to ask what made this different then an adhoc network, but that makes sense.
$10 says this will be broken or disabled after the next patch release.
I've been able to do this in Linux for years... ^_^
Aside from that shameless plug, this is a really nifty feature and I can see it benefiting many people. =)
Exploit?
Its a feature/ability.
Ok if you're a knucklehead it can be exploited asn set it up to be open.
But if you're a knucklehead you probably will do other dumb things as well.
Its like saying , there is an new danger for stepping in front of moving traffic.... no duh !!
Not that amazing, unless they are able to pull this off on all wireless chipsets. I know that for Intel's newest Centrino offerings, a tool called My WiFi is included in which you can do this exact thing.
PC's have had this for years it's called Internet Connection Sharing and Apple probably copied it
Flame On!!
Crap. Clicked reply on wrong post :|
LMAO low ranked for posting a joke under the wrong message and then apologising for it. Damn some people seriously need to get out more.
Could someone explain to me how this is different from a feature the Mac has had for a long time? Create a computer to computer network over WiFi and share an ethernet internet connection over it. It works just fine...
This allows you to take your laptop to a hotspot (or your home wireless network) and connect to it via your wifi card, and then turn around and share that connection with other users around you by creating a new wireless network from the same wifi card.
So in essence its like you have 2 wifi cards in your computer instead of just one.
I find it interesting how you guys low rank mac fans :P
I was actually going to ask the same question, but I guess a mac can't connect to a wifi network and share it at the same time,
we have to connect it to an ethernet cable and then create a network (like a router),,
Anyways, I guess we're not perfect, but still better than windows hehe :P
Stephen is being downranked because of his pathetic attempt to claim that Macs are uniquely capable of something that every PC with a wireless nic has always been able to do or that Apple somehow invented this feature first.
It's a wireless NIC.
PC's have had this for years it's called Internet Connection Sharing and Apple probably copied it
Flame On!!
You're calling that a mac feature? Really?
It's called a bridge.
So anyway, why bother caring about what OS "had it first"? For the record off a Microsoft support document:
"you can turn on Internet Connection Sharing on computers that are running Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition, Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me), and Microsoft Windows 2000."
See? Windows 98 (though correct me if that ISN'T a feature - oh, and it's not just for Wi-Fi). Not counting Mac OS 9's ability to turn AirPort cards into hotspots, it was only until Mac OS X 10.2 that Internet Sharing was provided.
Though honestly, who cares? If it's in the operating system you own today, what should it matter who copied who or who had it first? Of note, I don't believe OS X actually has THIS feature yet, but as a Mac user who sees this as useful, I DO wish I had it.
@Anthony La
Macs have it:
http://cnettv.cnet.com/create-your-own-wi-fi-hotspot-mac/9742-1_53-50004434.html
It's just not as easy to use.
And before I'm downranked, YES you CAN connect and share one Wi-Fi network.
@MZLweasel no, that's not it - that's the Internet Sharing I mentioned earlier. The technology Microsoft has here allows Windows 7 computers to create a hotspot while ALREADY connected to a hotspot - "virtual Wi-Fi".
Engadget, you are so late. This was discovered nearly a week back on other sites.
It's not cool until engadget does it.
You forget that Engadget is run by bloggers not journalists so until someone else reports it they don't know about it.
Not all of us have the ability to read the entire internet every single day.
I have done this for years with my Macs. I don't mean to be smug when I say that, just surprised. I thought Windows could do it as well.
seems like you got down voted just for saying the word Mac. Windows fanboys I guess are so jealous that they think down voting Mac users comments will make them feel better. Guess they gotta compensate somehow.
No, he was voted down for saying something completely stupid and not understanding what this does and what his Mac is capable of doing.
Cool.. Sounds like something my android phone should be able to suck juice off of!
I have rooted my phone and am able to use it as a 3G-hotspot. It's a nice feature when out and about with a laptop.
@Rybak: you fail at avatar stealing.
But isn't this feature called "Ad-Hoc Wi-Fi," and it's been available for some time now already?
you beat me to it
I think with ad hoc, in order to share internet, one computer has to be connected to ethernet. So this is slightly different as I don't think you need a direct line.
From the website FAQ:
Is this just WiFi’s ad hoc mode?
No, Connectify is a real WiFi Access Point running on your computer. Any device that can connect to a regular access point, can connect to a Connectify Hotspot, with no special setup or software required.
@aznjohnny, I agree re: that exact "extra" feature to w/c the PC World link/article had mentioned that there's definitely a "plus feature" to it, wherein Nomadio's "Connectify" software has that feature included: receiving Wi-Fi & distributing Ad-Hoc Wi-Fi as well!
So it's definitely a "software tweak," w/c "Engadget" had mentioned that was just "exploited," because it was not finished by Microsoft on Windows 7.
A new twist created by Nomadio for creating an Ad-Hoc Wi-Fi software on Windows (not only for Windows 7 but also for Windows XP & Vista) PC's indeed.
Not completely. Android can not connect to Adhoc networks. Ok, you CAN, and I just did. It only took me 3-4 hours, and requires a rooted phone, rewriting some linux config files, messing around with some phone settings, some network settings on the computer... and 10 minutes after I got it working (more or less... I have to connect the laptop to my phone... the phone can't sign in automatically) I read about Connectify. Oh well... But I suppose Connectify will be less troublesome.
so its just an ad hoc network?
just to now thath windows 7 has this funtion by default..
15 second and you have an hot spot in 7 without program like this...
this is a screen.. just push the button to have hot spot
http://img682.imageshack.us/img682/4264/hotspotseven.jpg
People that saying this feature exists (including the ones mentioning how it only exists on macs), you are thinking of adhoc. Yes it does exist for windows and mac, but that is just a connection from 1 computer to another, then you can share your internet connection. Not every wifi device supports adhoc, and with this, it just creates a wifi access point that anything can connect to. Don't get me wrong, this is not new technology, hell, i've even seen an app that does this on WinMo.
I am using OS X's Wi-Fi sharing with multiple devices. It supports both Ad-Hoc (you get WiFi+Computer icon) and real hotspot mode (you get WiFi icon with arrow up).
And to quote the last sentence from the PC World link now:
"Apple's Mac OS X already offers a similar feature under the "Internet Sharing" preferences setting."
@Owen V, "so its just an ad hoc network?"
Correct!
This in my mind is pretty much a useless feature. If you're at a cafe and pay for internet to use on your laptop, why would you want to browse the internet using your phone? It just doesn't make any logical sense for me.
what?
u missed the point, mate.
Please guys, read the damn article.
This doesn't just let you create an ad-hoc network. It lets you create an ad-hoc network while you're still connected to a wireless network, so it's kinda like having two wireless adapters.
It's not an article, it's an ad. And it mentions the wireless network you create has to run on the same channel as the one you join! That's not terribly useful I don't think. It sounds like a modified version of WDS, and it'll cut your bandwidth way, way down as every packet has to be sent twice over the same channel if it passes through your virtual base station.
"It's not an article, it's an ad."
See, LS, this is why I laugh when you complain about advertisements on that other device. Seriously, this is an ad? If this is an ad, why are you not complaining in every single post here on Engadget for being a shill, advertising cameras, computers, MP3 players, etc? Why would you subject yourself to these horrible, brain altering, demeaning advertisements by coming to a place like Engadget when they are beaming their subliminal "buy me" messages directly into your brain?
Take off the tinfoil hat.