Gadgetory

if you're on Windows 8 you might have noticed that Microsoft took away a really useful networking feature in the last OS you can easily create ad-hoc networks that would let you turn your PC into a Wi-Fi hotspot assuming it was already connected to the internet somehow well you can still do this in Windows 8 but it has to be done with a third party app once it's set up you'll be able to share your internet connection with another device so if you paid for internet access at a cafe or you're at work and want to share your PCs internet with your phone or tablet you can do that head over to virtual router plus comm and download the latest release this app is ad free open source and it's super lightweight once it's downloaded launch this virtual router plus file at this point setup is super easy just choose a name for your network like sharing back and enter a password with at least 8 characters choose the connection you want to share in my case it's Ethernet to hit start and you should be good to go alright now we can test the connection so I'll head to my tablet and here is sharing back in my Wi-Fi settings so I'll select it enter the password and now I can surf the web on my tablet using my laptop as a hotspot sometimes the network you created here won't show up on your other devices so if that happens just stop the connection on your computer and start it up again and remember that your computer needs to stay awake and running to keep the network alive so tweak your power settings if you need to for the written guide with even more tips and details visit how to cnet.com and tweet me with any questions or tips you want to share for a CNET I'm Sharon Vaknin