Like I said, probably a dumb question:
Can a laptop that gets wireless be used as a wireless router to send/receive info from other wireless devices?
If that is too general, this was my thought that lead to the question. In some places you have to pay per connection to a wireless signal. Could a person on a laptop change setting so that those around them (friends is the idea) could piggy back off the wireless signal using the laptop as a router? They would be using netbooks/ipod touches.

2/24/2010 2:18:24 AM

If the laptop is running XP: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=fac8708e-3762-4e78-b372-8404eeb7f41a&DisplayLang=en


I'd imagine the signal is pretty weak unless you've got an amazing laptop.

2/24/2010 2:28:18 AM

you're basically looking for the Internet Sharing feature, which was introduced at least back in Windows XP.

Although, form my limited usage with it a couple years ago I believe you can't receive and share your internet connection both on wireless. You can get your laptops connection via ethernet, then share it wirelessly, but I don't think you can connect and share wirelessly. Or get the internet wirelessly, then share the connection via ethernet.

this may have changed in the years since i've tried it though.

[Edited on February 24, 2010 at 2:32 AM. Reason : .]

2/24/2010 2:29:21 AM

you could get wireless then bridge it with your wired and connect with a wire between the laptops

i wonder what you can do via bluetooth...

2/24/2010 2:31:30 AM

Hmm. The first tells how to make a wired connection into a wireless connection for others.

I'm really looking for a share fully wirelessly. I haven't seen it done, and I'm sure there is a reason why, but I don't know it. The laptop would be a repeater of sorts for the other wireless device.

^that could be interesting.

[Edited on February 24, 2010 at 2:34 AM. Reason : .]

2/24/2010 2:34:11 AM

not promising anything but if you try to create a bluetooth link between the two, enable ICS on one of the laptops and on the other try to see if it says anything about using it to connect to the internet. I've seen options like that for other devices on windows 7, but never tried it with another laptop.

fucking around with my bluetooth settings I found this:



so you can do it if your hardware can I guess

2/24/2010 2:44:08 AM

hmm, that would work.
Guess I would need a newer laptop, or be with people that have a bluetooth capable laptop. I have no way to test that theory myself.

2/24/2010 2:56:06 AM

http://lifehacker.com/5369381/turn-your-windows-7-pc-into-a-wireless-hotspot. I would give that a try. It has a similar link in the middle of the page for xp or vista if you dont have windows 7.

2/24/2010 3:41:37 AM

i had a 90mhz pentium 1 (yeah kids, they started at 1) think pad laptop bridging wireless in windows 95 (actually might have been 3.1) about 6 years ago. you can do this!

2/24/2010 9:36:07 AM

3.1 WITH NETWORKING (OBVIOUSLY)

2/24/2010 9:37:12 AM

windows for workgroups

2/24/2010 9:39:11 AM

I used to share dialup from my windows 98 PC with Kerio's WinRoute.

I'm pretty sure you would need two wireless cards to do this, but don't quote me on that. My HTC phone does this using the cell radio as internet and wifi for the hotspot.

[Edited on February 24, 2010 at 12:15 PM. Reason : .]

2/24/2010 12:12:09 PM

There are no dumb Qs. They are omnipotent (or so they would like us to believe)

2/24/2010 12:17:56 PM

if q was in the matrix would he make his first jump

2/24/2010 12:18:34 PM

actually he would just stand there and move the world around him

THEN YOU REALIZE IT IS NOT ACTUALLY U THAT JUMPS, BUT THE WORLD!

[Edited on February 24, 2010 at 12:19 PM. Reason : a]

2/24/2010 12:19:21 PM

what are you saying

that q can dodge bullets

2/24/2010 12:20:46 PM

im saying he is the bullets

2/24/2010 12:26:44 PM

so i thought the rap about "free wireless" networks at airports etc were that they can sometimes be someones computer, routing your internet traffic through their laptop and sniffing crap...so how do they do it then? it's basically the same setup isn't it?

i'm thinking the idea is to not have to do anything on the remote computers who need internet access.


i'm not sure these are the right search terms, but they should give you come info at least.
http://tinyurl.com/yb8pwlb
http://tinyurl.com/yanehso
http://tinyurl.com/yaurtwk

2/24/2010 1:06:59 PM

Quote :

"I'm pretty sure you would need two wireless cards to do this"

2/24/2010 1:42:44 PM

thats what i was thinking...using the built in + a usb?

2/24/2010 1:53:28 PM

http://www.connectify.me/ but you have to have Windows 7

2/24/2010 4:16:00 PM

I'm on XP, and won't be changing any time soon (I hope).

2/25/2010 10:17:23 AM

Windows 3.11 rocked

2/25/2010 10:30:04 AM