Monday, December 14, 2009

Connectify: Windows 7 as WiFi router

Navigating the other day by the network of networks. I saw a feature of Windows 7 that among other things, would make any computer with a WiFi network card into a wireless access point for other devices. For some reason, this technology known as "Virtual WiFi" is not available in the final versions of Windows 7, but its core functionality remains dormant, waiting for someone to take it. That's where it enters Connectify, reactivating an application that enables this feature and turn any laptop or computer with a wireless network card in a software-based router that almost everything that is compatible with WiFi you can connect.

For some it may seem a luxury, but anyone with a laptop or a WiFi enabled mobile quickly understand how annoying it is to use a physical cable to obteneracceso Internet. In fact, I met many people who must connect the ADSL modem to your notebook, and after putting to test their mental health after connecting and disconnecting the modem dozens of times, looking for ways to obteneracceso Internet wirelessly. In the case of WiFi, it needed the intervention of a router or access point towards it, but Windows 7 would have a function that would avoid the need. This feature was known as Virtual Wifi, and was one of the most anticipated features of the new operating system. For some reason, and using that classic style that shows only Microsoft, Virtual WiFi was wiped off the map, and all laptop users were left with the desire to turn their systems into software-based routers. At least until now.

Windows 7 may not have had to Virtual WiFi in its final version, but the code base itself is available in the operating system. Connectify does the job and fill the gap between the code base and WiFi unVirtual functional, and makes a very comfortable user interface. The rest of the process includes naming the virtual router, password, and specify the wireless connection that will serve as the interface. Obviously, having a wireless network card is a must for Connectify work, whether in a netbook, notebook, or a computer through additional unatarjeta (not forgetting that there are motherboards with integrated WiFi). The program is currently in beta, and according to his official website has some limitations, but is likely to be polished as time goes on.

There should be no kind of protest from Microsoft, because it only accesses a Connectify asleep deWindows function 7, and makes no change in low-level operating system. And for those who have doubts about whether Connectify is safe, the routervirtual uses a WPA2 password-protected, and such protection can not be disabled. On the one hand, this makes those devices that support WPA2 can not connect through Connectify, but from another point, the network is kept secure. Connectify was the first program to reactivate the role deVirtual WiFi in Windows 7, however, is likely to see other applications with additional features and other security parameters, as long as Microsoft does not throw a nuclear bomb and delete all the map