Windows 7 has come with many new features that are under the hood. One such feature is the native support to create Wireless Ad Hoc Networks. While the built in functionality of Windows7 does not allow you to share your internet connection over the Wireless network you create, third party tools like the very popular Connectify make this task easier and more secure.

But the one thing that I didn’t like about Connectify is its interface. It just doesn’t blend with the interface of Windows7. Have a look at the screenshot below that shows Connectify in action :

What Connectify does is create a Virtual WiFi connection that anyone can connect to, just as it were a access point. Today I came across another app called Virtual Router that does the same job, but albeit in a much more intuitive way.

To start just install the app and fire it up. Enter the name for the network, a password and choose the connection you want to share and just hit start Virtual Router. And moments later you should have an active Wireless network you can share.

Virtual Router is Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 only, because only they have the new built in Wireless Hosted Network(a.k.a Virtual WiFi) technology. It uses WPA2 Encryption for ensuring security and this encryption cannot be turned off.

How is Virtual WiFi different from Ad-Hoc? Ad-Hoc is best suitable if you are connecting two computers and can be used to share files, while tools such as Connectify and Virtual Router allow you to share the internet connection with multiple number of computers.

Sidenote : Mac OS.X has had this feature built in for many years now.

Download Virtual Router [Microsoft CodePlex] | Image Credit : Roger Bits