However, if you have a laptop or computer
that has a wireless card and so does your
buddy, you can use the cards to make a
wireless connection between the two
computers. Once they are connected
wirelessly (also called a peer- to-peer ad-hoc
wireless network) , you can easily share data
between the computers.
You can create an ad-hoc network in
Windows or in OS X and the steps for
creating the network for each OS.
It’s important to note that ad-hoc networks
in general have certain limitations that make
them only useful for certain situations.
Firstly, the speed of an ad-hoc network is
normally less than that of a normal
infrastructure network.
Ad-hoc network specs only require a max
speed of 11Mbps, which is way slower than b/
g/ n/ac max speeds. Secondly, you can’t
monitor signal strength of ad-hoc networks,
so you have to make sure the computers are
fairly close to each other and don’t move
around a lot.
Lastly, ad-hoc networks don’t support all
the security features of normal
infrastructure networks, so they can be more
easily hacked.Setting Up an ad hoc
NetworkThis is for Windows 7, but you can
follow the same instructions for Windows 8
and Windows Vista.
Follow Steps
1. To get started, open the Control Panel
and click on Network and Sharing Center
2. On the next dialog, click on the Setup a
new connection or network link towards the
bottom.
3. In the new connection dialog, scroll
down till you see the Setup a wireless ad hoc
(computer-to-computer) network option.
4. On the next screen, it will explain what a
ad hoc wireless network is and will let you
know that if you’re currently connected to a
wireless network, you’ll probably get
disconnected. Go ahead and click Next.
5. Now you have to give the network a
name, choose a security type and give it a
security key. For the security key, you can
choose from only three options: no
authentication, WEP or WPA2- Personal. The
default is WPA2-Personal, which is the
strongest.
6. Click next and then you’ll get a screen
showing you that the network has been setup.
Note that if you don’t check the Save this
network box, once you disconnect from the
ad hoc network, it will simply disappear. If
you want to use it again, you’ll have to start
from scratch.
7. Congrats, you’ve completed the first
part! Go ahead and open your list of wireless
networks and you should see your newly
created one listed along with the rest of the
wireless networks. Click on it to connect.
8. Once you are connected, you’ll see a
message next to the network name that says
Waiting for users.
You network is now ready to accept new
connections.