Browse the Web in areas with no Internet browser
Schools, libraries and even colleges like to restrict access to their public computers and some do not even have a link to an Internet browser although they might be connected to the net normally. This is done to get rid of users who occupy a computer to chat on the Internet while its main purpose is to do something else, for instance to research and find books or use the Intranet.
There is however a way that might work. It actually does work in many instances because most of the time the system admins have not thought of this method before and did not block it out. It's all about the Windows help system. You can access it from most Windows applications like Notepad, Calc and even the Sound Recorder.
Just click on Help in the menu and there on Help Topics. A new page should open with Help topics. What is unknown to most is that you can left-click on the icon in the top left corner which opens a menu with the option to Jump to Url.
It is possible to enter a full url in the jump to this url field which will load the website in the right main pane of the Windows help file. Just make sure you enter the url starting with http in front and the website should load just fine. It will however not bypass filters or firewalls unless the computer that you are using is using a different set of rules.
Note that the Internet Explorer rendering engine is used here, so that access to specific contents may be limited depending on the version of the Microsoft browser that is installed on the system. Still, this may provide you with an option to quickly open a website on a system with no direct access to Internet Explorer or another browser.
Once the site has been loaded, you may click on links to open other pages. Please note that the window lacks common browser controls such as an address bar or tabs so that you may need to use the Jump to URL form again when you want to navigate to another website that is not linked on the active page.
This is very cool. I had no idea you could do this. Thanks.
Very useful, I tried so many times in the past but never succeeded!
Thanks a lot!
I used this before with Connectify Hotspot. Was frustratingly unstable for me. I had to repeatedly stop and start hostednetwork to unstick it.
My Connectify Hotspot symptom was:
After not being connected for an extended period of time; a client device is no longer able to connect to Hotspot until the Connectify service is restarted.
I discovered that it was just using Windows’ hostednetwork, which was unstable for me. Eventually gave up and just got another AP and ran cabling.
“but have a laptop or a desktop PC with a Wi-Fi card or USB dongle”
How do I know if my laptop has what it needs or is something that needs to be added? I used a mobile Wifi wireless device (like a phone but not) for internet in the past with a paid service. Now I connect to a neighbor’s (a relative) Wifi but I have no control or details on the setup of it and they aren’t technically-inclined to answer questions about it.
I didn’t know Windows 7 had this function. So the version in Windows 10 isn’t something new.
In Windows 7 you can create a hotspot from Control Panel directly.
Control Panel\Network and Internet\Network and Sharing Center > Manage wireless networks > Add. You should be able to define the name, password and security type. At the end check a box which asks you if you want to allow internet access through this network.
Step 7 – There is no drop down! The box is populated by “WiFi” (the name of my incoming wifi connection, which is not used as I use ethernet).
How do I fix this please? Windows 8.1 (Hotspot was set up and working, then suddenly stopped a couple of months ago.???)
Step 7 fix (I don’t know which part fixed it…)
1. enabled sharing on “WiFi” connection.
2. renamed the hotspot lan.
3. enabled sharing for the ethernet connection. No “home networking connection” box appeared.
2. (maybe I did this here)
4. when sharing tab was re-opened for ethernet, it was pre-populated with my renamed hotspot adapter name! Duh
I want to use my Samsung S5 hotspot on my laptop ,who has no windows,how do I create Internet connection on laptop
I used in my mobile HTC Desire 10 Pro, but first time mobile connected in second time on connecting obtaining ip address and not connected. i still wait for connected but same condition in last 5 time try to connect…
please suggest me best solution ,,
Regards,
Rana Arshad…
hi, I did all the steps and it appears on my wifi list, but it has no internet access. How to fix it? Thanks :)
After I hit start it says:
The hosted network couldn’t be started.
The group or resource is not in the correct state to perform the requested operation.
The network card you want to share MUST be able to share. USE:
netsh wlan show all
Look at the output, find your (wifi) device, look for the line:
Hosted Network Supported
If the answer is No — you have to buy a wifi usb dongle that does support Hosted Network, or share another connection like your Ethernet port using a network cable.
Mine was a nice RTL 8188 but doesn’t support Hosted Network (and I think most RealTek’s don’t)
on my workstation, but on my Dell laptop with Dell Wireless 1490 Dual Band internal mini-card YES, it does hostednetwork, so I just switched my cell phone tether over to the Dell. I probably would want the Dell to go with me on vacation, etc. anyway, so I’ll just use that one.
I had been looking online for this solution and none worked. This method, first time; zero issues.
Excellent advice
I got the new hosted network name to appear on the “Network and Sharing Center” list of networks. I followed all steps and got the expected results until step 8. I never got “Access type: Internet” but only got “Access type: internet not available.” Still, I was able to see this network from another device and connect to it. When I did this, however, Intel My Wifi Technology disabled itself. I kept manually re-enabling it, but it would disable itself again a few seconds later. After a few rounds of this, the network disappeared entirely. I had to go back to my command prompt (with admin rights) and start over, but then I could not get the hosted network to start. I kept getting a message along the lines of “resource not available,” and the network disappeared from the “Network and Sharing Center” list.
The network card you want to share MUST be able to share. USE:
netsh wlan show all
Look at the output, find your (wifi) device, look for the line:
Hosted Network Supported
If the answer is No — you have to buy a wifi usb dongle that does support Hosted Network, or share another connection like your Ethernet port using a network cable.
Mine was a nice RTL 8188 but doesn’t support Hosted Network (and I think most RealTek’s don’t)
on my workstation, but on my Dell laptop with Dell Wireless 1490 Dual Band internal mini-card YES, it does hostednetwork, so I just switched my cell phone tether over to the Dell. I probably would want the Dell to go with me on vacation, etc. anyway, so I’ll just use that one.
Hi, I did all the steps and it worked, but when I try to connect with my mobile it didn’t work because it couldn’t obtain network address. How can i make the hostednetwork work as DHCP
thanks