Currently, wireless networks are becoming more widespread: they work at train stations, airports, and enterprises, and for many users even at home. Windows 7 introduced such an option as "virtual WiFi" (Virtual WiFi) - a software layer that creates several virtual adapters from a wireless network card installed in a computer. But first, a little theory.

Wireless networks can operate in two modes:

The devices are connected directly to each other. It turns out a simple network (ad-hoc mode). This mode is called "point-to-point". This mode is used quite rarely and mainly for data exchange when there is no possibility to use an access point.

Devices connect via an access point (Access Point-AP).
This mode is called infrastructure (Infrastructure Mode) and, as a rule, is used in conjunction with a wireless router connected to the Internet.

It should be noted that the simultaneous use of two modes of wireless network operation on one physical wireless adapter is not provided for by the WiFi concept itself, and this is where the virtualization technology used in Windows 7, which expands 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 different wireless networks.

What is it for

Hmm... The question is, of course, an interesting one.
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) that expands the coverage area of ​​the wireless network.

Example two: creating a personal area 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 easy information exchange.

Example three: an existing wireless network with static IP addresses of devices, but sometimes you need to quickly connect new devices, and without any settings-rebuilds (this can be done if the dynamic IP address 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.

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 wireless adapter manufacturers only need to implement SoftAP support in their drivers (many, by the way, have already done this).

So far - in the current implementation - Virtual WiFi has the following limitations: only one virtual adapter can be created, operating only in 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 an access point versus 8 clients in My WiFi technology promoted by Intel.

Installing, enabling and configuring Virtual WiFi

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

So, first you have to "cheat" 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 need to be specified each time the virtual network needs to be started.

After executing this command, the system will detect the new hardware and a new network adapter will appear in Device Manager called "Microsoft Virtual WiFi miniport adapter".

As a clarification: naturally, 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 the Control Panel -\u003e Network and Sharing Center -\u003e Change adapter settings:

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

We turn to the launch of the network. From a command prompt running with administrator rights, run the following command:

netsh wlan start hostednetwork

After that, a) the network will start (Microsoft called it "Hosted Network") and b) the software hotspot will work, which can be verified by going to Control Panel -\u003e 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 soft access point.

To provide Internet access to other wireless devices that will connect to our software access point, go to the tab Control Panel –> Network and Sharing Center -> Change the 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 WiFi connection, 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 "Home network connection" you need to specify which network adapter - in our case, this is "Wireless Network Connection 2" - you should provide the Internet.

Finally, about the client. Several wireless networks will be visible from the client side, 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 be separated from the external NAT (Network Address Translation) networks.

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

Simplify virtual WiFi network management

Despite the obvious advantages of Virtual WiFi, using the command line to configure and start the network for windows users who are accustomed to pressing buttons is not to say that it is convenient and familiar, especially since you will have to start the network every time you restart the computer, as well as wake it up from sleep or standby mode.

Unfortunately, there is no built-in graphical interface for Virtual WiFi in the operating system, but, as always in such cases, third-party developers came to the rescue by releasing graphical shells for Virtual WiFi - Connectify and Virtual Router Manager. We recommend using the first one (Connectify), since its developer is constantly working on improving it and regularly releases new versions, and the development of Virtual Router Manager is still at the "beta" stage, with the latest beta version dated 2009.

The principle of using both utilities is very simple: in the appropriate 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 startup of the operating system, ensuring the launch of the virtual network. In addition, both the Connectify and Virtual Router Manager utilities show the current virtual network connections.

Hosted Network Management Commands

Finally, for connoisseurs of the command line - new commands for managing a hosted network that appeared 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 persistent/temporary - setting 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 its status

netsh wlan show hostednetwork settings=security - Displays hosted network security settings, including showing the password set in key when configuring netsh wlan set hostednetwork

netsh wlan start hostednetwork - start a hosted network

netsh wlan stop hostednetwork - stop hosted network.

Virtual WiFi Router is a simple and easy-to-use utility that, as the name suggests, can turn your computer or laptop into a WiFi hotspot and "share the Internet" over a short distance. The program is extremely easy to use and configure.

The program does not have many options. The developers allowed the user to assign a name to the access point, set a password and limit the number of possible connections. The main window of Virtual WiFi Router displays all connected devices with brief information about them. Immediately after setting up, the application can be minimized to the notification panel. It will continue to run in the background. It is also important that the program is completely free. Its only drawback can be considered, perhaps, the fact that it is only compatible with Windows 7 (including the 64-bit version).

Key features and functions

• allows you to turn your computer into an access point in a couple of minutes;
• allows you to assign a name and password;
• displays all active connections;
• can work in the background;
• easy to use and easy to set up.

Utility Virtual WiFi Router features simple operation and the ability to convert your computer into a wireless network access point. This feature will allow you to use the device to transmit information via the Internet over a certain distance. The program has an exclusively English-language interface.

V Wi-Fi virtual router there are no supernatural options, and there are not so many of them. Each user can only set the access point parameters: name, login password and the maximum number of devices that can connect to it. The working window of the program displays a list of currently active connections and brief information about them. After completing all the necessary settings, the application can be minimized, thereby freeing up space on the desktop of the device. At the same time, it will not stop functioning, but will continue to work in the background.

You can download the Virtual WiFi Router program from our website using the link below, the official website of the program is virtualwifirouter.com.

Features of Virtual WiFi Router for Windows 7, 10:

• Free download and installation;
• Quick setup of an access point on a computer;
• Providing information about all devices connected to the access point at the moment;
• Work in the background;
• Simple and convenient control.

Program disadvantages:

• Lack of an interface in Russian;
• Compatible only with Windows 7, 10 x64/x86;

Any computer with a wifi adapter can be configured as a virtual wifi router without the use of third-party programs. But every time you restart your computer, you will have to create a new virtual network.

Let's figure out what is the peculiarity of creating a virtual router using only one operating system, and with the help of special programs.

Creating a virtual router using Windows

Remember that the main requirement when creating a virtual network using the operating system is that connected devices, clients must work with WPA2-PSK / AES encryption. Otherwise, they will not be able to connect to your virtual router.

Create an access point

To implement a virtual network, you need to open a command prompt, and as an administrator, run the command netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode=allowed ssid=”My Virtual Wi-Fi” key=”Password” keyUsage=persistent

Command values:

• My Virtual Wi-Fi is the name of the wireless network. Think of any so that you can find it in the list of wifi networks.
• Password – password for access to the created network.

Run command

After implementing this command, a network card should appear in your Device Manager - “Microsoft Virtual Wi-Fi Mini Port Adapter”, and a wireless network connection 2 should appear in the network connections folder.

Virtual router adapter

To start your virtual network, open the command prompt again and enter this command - netsh wlan start hostednetwork. Now the network should work, you can check this by searching for wireless networks on any wifi device. If you want to turn off the virtual router, then on the command line, instead of - start, enter - stop, and the network will stop broadcasting.

Deleting an access point

To remove a virtual router from a computer, you need to run the command on the command line as an administrator - netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode=disallow.

Now the virtual router adapter will disappear from the device manager.

Internet access from a virtual router

Go to Network and Sharing Center, then change adapter settings. You should select your Internet connection, go to its properties. There, go to the Access tab. Check the box next to Allow other network users to use this computer's Internet connection. Just below, specify the connection that you allow access to. We have a wireless network connection 2.

Selecting a connection property

We check, connect to the created network, try to access the Internet.

In this version of creating a virtual router, everything is fine and fast, but there is one inconvenience - when you restart the computer, all the manipulations described above will have to be performed again. Therefore, in order to avoid this, you can use special software to implement virtual networks. With its help, setup is simplified and when you restart your computer, you do not have to start everything over again every time.

Creating a virtual router using the application

On the Internet, you can find a dozen applications that help create virtual networks. But now we will consider one of them, this is mHotspot. A small application that does not require installation, consisting of a single file.

Download the program from the Internet, run the executable file, the following window should appear.

Mhotspot application menu

The Mhotspot application menu has three buttons: "SETUP HOTSPOT", "START", "STOP". First, click - SETUP HOTSPOT, this is the access point setting.

Mhotspot setup

Now we enter data from the corresponding fields: Hotspot name - write the name of the future virtual network, this name will be displayed during the search for wireless networks. Password - we write the password, it will have to be entered to access the virtual network. This measure will protect your network from unauthorized users. Save by pressing the button - OK. Everything, you can press the button - Start, and your virtual router should work.

Setting up Internet distribution

Now we need to set up Internet distribution from an existing connection. Go to: control panel - network and internet - network and sharing center - change adapter settings.

Virtual Wireless Connection

In this window, we are looking for Wireless network connection 2. Move the mouse over it, the inscription should pop up - Microsoft Virtual WiFi Miniport Adapter. For convenience, it is possible to rename it to - Virtual WiFi. Now find your internet connection.

There may be several of these connections, because you can use the Internet from a 3G modem, or through a provider cable. Choose exactly what you want to distribute the Internet from.

Go to the properties of the selected connection and check the boxes as shown in the picture below.

Internet access

After pressing the button - OK, you need to reconnect this Internet connection, and the virtual router should distribute the Internet.

When you restart your computer, if you want to share the Internet via wifi, just run the application - Mhotspot and click - Start. Now you don’t need to enter anything, because. the program remembered the previously entered data. The application can be closed, the virtual router will continue to distribute the Internet.

How to set up a Virtual Wi-Fi connection

In order to distribute the Internet via wi-fi, you need a router - a special device. But in most cases, especially at home, you can not even buy it, but turn any computer into a router. All that is required for this is a computer with a built-in or external wi-fi adapter and a small Virtual Router Plus program - a free virtual router.

Thanks to a virtual router, you can distribute wi-fi to all devices in the nearest area - computers, laptops, tablets, smartphones, to everything that can receive a signal.

Virtual Router Plus - free virtual router

Virtual Router Plus is a free virtual router in Russian. Thanks to him, any computer with a wi-fi adapter can distribute the Internet to other devices that can receive a wi-fi signal.

Virtual Router Plus is lightweight, easy to use, intuitive interface, stable, and does not load the system. This is one of the simplest and most understandable programs for creating a wi-fi point on a computer.

Virtual Router Plus Interface

When you run this program, a window will open in front of you. You need to fill in the following data:

• Network name (SSID). Write down the name of your wi-fi network. I do not recommend using Cyrillic.
• Password. Create a password to prevent neighbors from stealing your internet.
• General connection. Select the Internet connection in the list that you want to distribute through this virtual router. If the required connection is not in the list, then click on the "Update" button next to it.

When all the data is filled in, click on the "Launch virtual router plus" button. When wi-fi starts to be distributed, you will see a message in the system tray. After that, you can try to catch the Internet with a variety of devices.