Share Internet Connection on Windows 7 Without Software

With freewares like Connectify and Virtual Router, sharing internet connection from Windows 7 via Wi-Fi is just a few clicks away. That is, provided they’re working fine. Somehow after some time, both of the mentioned freewares decided to stop working on my Windows 7.

These are the common error messages: Connectify service down, Virtual router could not be started, and Can not manage Virtual Router. The service is not running.
If you too couldn’t get Connectify or Virtual Router to work, try the following steps to share internet connection on Windows 7 via Wi-Fi without any software. We will be setting up an ad hoc network and bridging it with the internet connection source.
Set up an ad hoc connection:

1. Go to Network and Sharing Center
2. Select Set up a new connection or network
3. Select Set up a wireless ad hoc (computer-to-computer) network
4. Enter a network name, select Open or WEP for security type (some devices couldn’t join WPA protected networks) and enter your desired security key.
5. Join the ad hoc network using the device you wanted to share your internet connection with

Bridging Internet Connection to Ad Hoc network

1. Back to Network and Sharing Center
2. Select Change adapter settings on the left
3. Right-click on the Wi-Fi adapter > Properties. On the Sharing tab, uncheck the two checkboxes
4. Right-click on Local Area Connection adapter (the source of internet connection) > Properties. On the Sharing tab, uncheck the two checkboxes
5. Now select both the Wi-Fi and LAN adapters (Ctrl + click on both the icons)
6. Once both of them are highlighted, right-click > Bridge connections

Any device that is connected to the ad hoc network should now be able to leech the internet connection off your Windows 7 PC. It works great on mine, tethering the 3G connection from my iPhone to my Windows 7 laptop, then sharing the connection via Wi-Fi with a Nokia E7.