Laptop as an access point to the Internet

A laptop (as an access point to the Internet) can be configured with certain programs and Wi-Fi. But before you learn about all the details of the setting, let's talk more about what an access point is. This is the place where the electronic node is connected to the Internet. For mobile and portable electronic devices, an online Wi-Fi access point was developed, operating wirelessly.

Wireless Wi-Fi

To connect to the Internet using wires, it takes a lot of time, money and effort. Internet connection in this case is carried out by cables laid in the ground, under the floor, through walls, etc. The stationary computer should be installed near this connection point. Moving it around the room or office is impossible.

With the advent of Wi-Fi, you can forget about all these inconveniences. Now the signals are transmitted without the participation of wires through routers or routers with the help of radio waves IEEE 802.11 frequency spectrum standard.

A router installed in a room is connected via a cable to the Internet network. This electronic device is capable of radiating within the radius of one or two kilometers of the Internet wave. All laptops, mobile phones-3D, located in this range and equipped with a Wi-Fi adapter, can receive signals. Thus, this physical access point can provide access to the world wide web of ten or fifteen users simultaneously.

Virtual entry point

If you understand the principle of the functioning of Wi-Fi, then you imagine that it is quite possible to use the laptop as an access point. To make it or a computer equipped with a Wi-Fi-receiver, a gateway through which several owners of wireless devices can use the Internet, is fairly straightforward.

The operating program must be necessarily Windows Server 2008 or Windows 7. And then the Wi-Fi-adapter will be able to function in the SoftAP mode. This will be a virtual access point. The console (command line) is started by the administrator, that is you. Then you need to execute the instruction "netsh wlan set". The "ssid" parameter specifies the point name, and the "key" specifies the password for accessing the network. The operating system will execute the command and install the required driver. The list of adapters will be updated, and there will appear Virtual Wi-Fi (SoftAP), which must be removed. This is indicated in the command "mode = disallow" - and all other parameters are omitted. The access point is started by specifying "netsh wlan start hostednetwork". The next step is to replace the parameter "start" with "stop". The SoftAP mode will start and the built-in DHCP server will start at the same time.

That's how we just created a wireless network, in which the role of the router is played by the laptop as an access point to the Internet. Switching to the "Sharing" tab, we enable the permission to the general login to the network. Now we select the required VirtualBox Host-Onli Network adapter in SoftAP mode. In order for the "laptop as an access point" system to function successfully, it is necessary to help it by installing the utility program.

Using a virtual access point

The most important thing: the purpose of such an organization of virtual access to the Internet is to quickly create a local network that operates without using wires. And the computer (or laptop), which is an access point, can simultaneously be in another other wireless network.

Thus, it is very easy to create an Internet repeater. The laptop should be installed in a place where the range of Wi-Fi for a wireless network ends. The SoftAP parameters must be set to the same as the parent Wi-Fi entry point. So you can expand the network coverage area with automatic reconnection of clients, if necessary, to a virtual repeater and vice versa.

Such a wireless gateway to the Internet can be used to create a network VPN-protection. In this way, client traffic is routed to a secure VPN tunnel, creating anonymity for the entire local network.