Create an Ad-Hoc Wireless Network

What’s the best way to transfer files from one computer to another? You can use a USB thumb drive or an Internet service like Dropbox, but a network connection is almost always the most efficient choice. You might think that both computers need access to a common network to use network sharing, but that’s not actually the case. Thanks to ad-hoc networking (a built-in feature in Windows) any two Wi-Fi-enabled laptops can shares files and play games as though they were on a LAN.

Setting up an ad-hoc connection in Windows Vista or 7 is a surprisingly simple affair. We’ll show you how.

Host an Ad-Hoc Network

(Image A)

On the computer that you want to host the network, click the wireless-signal connection-strength icon on the right side of the task bar. Select Open Network and Sharing Center, and then choose “Set up a new connection or network.” If this is the first time you’ve used ad-hoc networking, you’ll be asked to choose a network name and password for your network (image A). That’s pretty much all you have to do—click through the rest of the setup process and your network should be ready to go. Note that you’ll be disconnected from any other wireless networks you were connected to.

Connect to an Ad-Hoc Network

You connect to an ad-hoc network just like you’d connect to any other secure wireless network. Just select it from the wireless networks menu, and enter your password. That’s it!

Ad-Hoc Networking Uses

What it's good for:

» Transferring files between computers.
» Playing LAN games on multiple laptops.
» Streaming media from a friend's laptop.
» Sharing a single wired Internet connection.

What it's NOT good for:

» Replacing a router (the primary computer has to be powered on to use any of the others).
» Sharing a mobile hotspot (the primary computer can't connect to two wireless networks at once).

Use Internet Connection Sharing

Ad-hoc networking is even more powerful when combined with Internet Connection Sharing (ICS), a built-in feature of Windows that allows multiple computers to share a single Internet connection.

When do you need to share an Internet connection? It can be useful any time you’ve got a single wired Internet connection and multiple laptops you’d like to connect. Some hotels, for instance, still only provide a single Ethernet cable for Internet access. Additionally, ICS can allow you to share a VPN connection, and it can provide a way to connect a computer without a wireless card to a Wi-Fi network.

Set Up Internet Connection Sharing

To set up Internet Connection Sharing, open the Network Connections menu, which can be found in the Control Panel, under Network and Internet, and Network and Sharing Center (image B). Note that you won’t be able to access this menu if you only have a single network connection currently available to your computer. This makes sense because ICS requires two connections—one to connect to the Internet and one to connect to other computers (to share the Internet connection).

(Image B)

In the Network and Sharing Center, right-click the Internet connection to share, and click Properties. Select the Sharing tab, then check the box marked “Allow other network users to connect through this computer’s Internet connection” (image C). Now, any computer networked with this one will be able to connect to the Internet using this connection.

(Image C)

One thing to keep in mind is that any computer using this Internet connection needs to be set up to accept a dynamic IP address. If you’ve changed that setting in the past, you’ll need to go back to the network connection properties window and change it back.

By combining this feature with the previously discussed ad-hoc networking, you can easily use a single wired connection for multiple wireless devices—no new hardware or software needed.

Monitor Your Bandwidth Usage Using Open-Source Software

If you use some of the Internet-sharing techniques we’ve shown you in this how-to section, you might find yourself running afoul of your ISP’s bandwidth limits. To help you stay on the network’s good side, we’ll introduce you to some free, open-source software that will allow you to keep a watchful eye on your connection.

Bandwidth Monitor Pro

Bandwidth Monitor Pro Version 3.2 is a handy, open-source utility that we found to be the simplest and easiest to use. Installation is quick and painless, and upon an initial launch, you’ll be treated to a simple layout screen.

Don’t let the simplicity (or lack of any press-able buttons) of the interface fool you. A wide range of settings are only a right-click away. In the Settings menu, there are tons of options to play with (image D). You can customize the look of your readout and of the Bandwidth Monitor Pro window itself.

(Image D)

Another useful option is the one called Period, which allows you to choose a period of time to set the readout for. By default, Bandwidth Monitor Pro measures periods of 24 hours, or daily usage. But this can be altered—with a few clicks, you can choose a day of the month you’d like to start monitoring and when you’d like the monitoring to end.

(Image E)

There are multiple facets of Bandwidth Monitor Pro that you can customize, but arguably the most important option in the Settings menu is the email alert system. Clicking to the Alerts tab (image E) will pull up a menu that allows you to choose conditions that warrant an email alert—for instance, you want to be notified when you are approaching your bandwidth cap.