A while back I wrote about an awesome program called Connectify that turns a laptop into a Wi-Fi hotspot. When I wrote that post Connectify came in both free and paid versions, but they have since dropped the free version from their online store.
After learning that Connectify is no longer free, I downloaded and tested another free program that does the same thing (in fact it works with any Wi-Fi enabled PC, not just laptops). It’s called Virtual Router Plus, and I’m happy to tell you that it works extremely well.
Why would you need your own personal Wi-Fi hotspot? Perhaps the most common scenario is when you’re staying at a hotel that charges for Wi-Fi Internet access on a per-device basis (and there are a lot of them). Instead of paying for Wi-Fi access for each of your devices, you can pay to connect just your laptop and then create your own Wi-Fi hotspot for your smart phone and tablet to use.
Virtual Router Plus is easy to use, free to download, and it offers strong WPA2 encryption which will allow you to prevent other hotel guests or passersby from piggybacking off of your personal Wi-Fi connection. It works with any Wi-Fi enabled PC running either Windows 7 or Windows 8.
You can learn more about Virtual Router Plus and download it for free at virtualrouterplus.com. Note: If you wish to download Virtual Router Plus, do not click the “Download buttons” inside the yellow box. Those buttons are actually ads for unrelated products. Click the text link that reads “Download Latest Release” instead.