Turn a Windows 8 PC into a hot spot

If you're on Windows 8, you might have noticed that Microsoft took away a really useful networking feature. In the last OS, you could easily create Ad Hoc Networks that would let you turn your PC into a WiFi 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've paid for interne access at a café, or you're at work and want to share your PC's internet with your phone or tablet, you can do that. Head over to the virtualrouterplus.com and download the latest release. This app is ad free, open source and 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 Sharon Vak and enter password with at least 8 characters. Choose the connection you want to share. In my case it's Ethernet 2. Hit start and you should be good to go. All right, now, we can test the connection. So, I'll head to my tablet and here is Sharon Vak in my WiFi 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 howto.cnet.com and tweet me with any questions or tips you wanna share. For CNET, I'm Sharon Vaknin.