Hacking Tricks

What’s the best way to transfer files from one computer to another? You can use a USB thumb drive or an Internet service like Dropbox, but a network connection is almost always the most efficient choice. You might think that both computers need access to a common network to use network sharing, but that’s not actually the case. Thanks to ad-hoc networking (a built-in feature in Windows) any two Wi-Fi-enabled laptops can shares files and play games as though they were on a LAN.
Setting up an ad-hoc connection in Windows Vista or 7 is a surprisingly simple affair. We’ll show you how.

Host an Ad-Hoc Network

(Image A)
On the computer that you want to host the network, click the wireless-signal connection-strength icon on the right side of the task bar. Select Open Network and Sharing Center, and then choose “Set up a new connection or network.” If this is the first time you’ve used ad-hoc networking, you’ll be asked to choose a network name and password for your network (image A). That’s pretty much all you have to do—click through the rest of the setup process and your network should be ready to go. Note that you’ll be disconnected from any other wireless networks you were connected to.