Turn laptop into Wifi hotspot

This article is given such a title so that it could fight for the keyword “Turn laptop into Wifi hotspot”. There are two experiment for this post;

1. I’m trying to use Google AdWords External Tool to look for the right keyword for this article. (This is kind of SEO practice)
2. I’d like to turn my laptop (a DELL Studio 14, Windows 7 Premium, Intel i5 64bit) into a wireless (wifi) hotspot.

I’m currently using Maxis Broadband and my wireless router is broken. To buy a new wireless router will cause a such big hole in my wallet. Why don’t I use my laptop to be a wifi router? Theoretically, it’s possible. I searched and found this free software called Virtual Router (it is a additional software to turn your Windows 7/ 2008 into a wireless router).
Virtual Router -  is a free, open source software based router for PCs running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2. Using Virtual Router, users can wirelessly share any internet connection (Wifi, LAN, Cable Modem, Dial-up, Cellular, etc.) with any Wifi device (Laptop, Smart Phone, iPod Touch, iPhone, Android Phone, Zune, Netbook, wireless printer, etc.) These devices connect to Virtual Router just like any other access point, and the connection is completely secured using WPA2 (the most secure wireless encryption.)

(Copied verbatimly from http://virtualrouter.codeplex.com/ )

Installing the Virtual Router

Download the software from http://virtualrouter.codeplex.com/releases/view/36035 and install it. Through my experience, I need to restart the laptop in order to make it work.

After you restart, turn on the Internet connection (if you need Internet) , launch the program and you’ll get this screen.

Set the SSID (it is the name of the wifi hostpot which will appear in the wifi hotspot list in the second device). It could be anything (virtualrouter for example).

Provide the password (>8 characters) and set the active Internet connection (virtualrouterpwd for example).

Hit “Start Virtual Router” button. When it’s ready, the button caption will turn into “Stop Virtual Router”.

Connect from the other device

In this example I’m using and Android phone.

Go to Settings –> Wireless & Networks –> Wi-Fi Setting. Turn on the Wifi connection by checking the Wi-Fi check button. And your SSID (virtualrouter).

And hit connect to the network.

Provide the password for the SSID (virtualrouterpwd as in the example). And hit Connect. Wait for a while for the device to obtain the IP. You will see Connected after a few seconds.

Alhamdullillah, now my laptop has turned into a wifi hotspot, and my phone can access the Internet through it. No need to buy a new wireless router. My problem is solved, all the best to you.