In a home network it is very simple to connect new devices to the Internet, perhaps using a wireless router and some wireless adapter for the various PCs, without necessarily having to use a network cable. But if we are inside a company or an office, the connections of new devices are often severely limited by system and network rules, to the point that we cannot even connect our laptop to the corporate network in a simple and linear way .
Fortunately, we can easily remedy this by configuring (if user permissions allow) Internet sharing between devices connected via Ethernet : in fact it is sufficient to use the Ethernet port of our work PC to connect our laptop or any other device via cable Ethernet media for network connection.
We see in this guide how to share the Internet between two PCs with Windows 10 or Windows 7, so that you can navigate between two devices without problems.
READ ALSO: Ways to share the internet connection from Smartphone
Connect PCs
If our computer connected to the Internet uses Wi-Fi to navigate, we will only have to connect the network cable between the Ethernet ports of the two computers and proceed with sharing the Internet connection, as we will show you in the next chapter.
If, on the other hand, we already use the Ethernet port to surf the Internet on the primary PC, we will have to "fix" it by obtaining an Ethernet adapter via USB, such as the one available here -> Rankie USB Network Adapter (€ 11).
By connecting this small device to our primary PC we will have an additional Ethernet port, so we can connect the second computer and enable Internet sharing.
If instead we wanted to start from a Wi-Fi connection but we don't have any wireless module installed on the primary computer, we can install a USB Wi-Fi adapter, like the one available here -> TP-Link TL-WN823N (10 €).
Enable Internet sharing on Windows
Once the network cables are set up, we turn on both computers with Windows and make all the necessary configurations to be able to share the Internet connection between them.
For convenience we distinguish PC 1 (the one that is already connected to the Internet) and PC 2 (to be connected by cable).
The steps are actually identical on Windows 10 and Windows 7, so we can follow them on both operating systems.
PC 1
Let's go to PC 1, click on the bottom left of the Start menu, look for the Control Panel among the various applications and go to Network and Internet -> Network and Sharing Center -> Change adapter settings .
In this window we will have to right click on the connection we are currently using to browse (Wi-Fi or Ethernet integrated in the motherboard), then go to the Properties menu -> Sharing and activate both the items present ( Allow other users on the network connect via the Internet connection of this computer and Allow other users on the network to check and disable the shared Internet connection ).
We click OK to confirm.
Now that the Internet connection is shared, we will have to configure the internal network card or USB Ethernet adapter in order to offer the right IP parameters.
Back to the screen where the network devices are present, this time we right click on the Ethernet connection or USB adapter, click on Properties, select the item Internet Protocol version 4 (TCP / IPv4) and then on the Properties button at the bottom .
In the window that appears, activate the item Use the following IP address and enter the following parameters:
- IP address: 192.168.2.1
- Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
We confirm the changes by clicking OK and OK in the open windows.
If we want to stop sharing, simply go back to the window seen previously ( Sharing ) and disable the check marks on the items Allow other users on the network to connect via the Internet connection of this computer and Allow other users on the network to check and disable the shared Internet connection .
PC 2
We connect the Ethernet cable between the two PCs and we proceed to configure the connection settings, going to the Network and Internet menu -> Network and Sharing Center -> Change adapter settings, right-clicking on the Ethernet connection and then clicking on Properties .
In the window that opens we select the item Internet Protocol version 4 (TCP / IPv4), then we click on the Properties button at the bottom.
In the familiar window that appears, this time enter the following parameters:
- IP address: 192.168.2.2
- Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
- Default gateway: 192.168.2.1
- Preferred or primary DNS server: 192.168.2.1
We click OK on both windows and try to surf the Internet with any browser: we will have to be able to connect as if we were connected directly to the modem.
It is much easier to disconnect from this PC, since you just have to remove the Ethernet cable or right-click on the network icon in the lower right, select the cable connection and finally click Disconnect .
Connect devices via Wi-Fi (hotspot)
If instead of sharing the cable connection we wanted to turn our computer into a hotspot for Wi-Fi devices "> Virtual Router Plus.
This program, compatible with Windows 7 or later, allows you to quickly and effectively set up a hotspot for compatible devices, sharing the Internet connection used at that moment by the PC.
After starting it, simply choose a name for the hotspot network in the Network Name (SSID) field, enter a password in the namespace field and indicate the connection to be shared (it can be both the LAN connection and a Wi-Fi connection).
At the end we click on the Start Virtual Router Plus button to start the chosen hotspot.
To find out other ways to easily transform your computer into a wireless router, I refer you to reading our dedicated guide -> Create a WiFi hotspot on Windows PC .
READ ALSO: Turn Windows 10 into a wifi router
Conclusions
In a few and all in all simple steps we have seen how to share the Internet connection between two PCs via Ethernet cable, really very useful in the business environment or when we only have two PCs that we can connect to a single LAN cable for the connection (in fact we connect two PCs to a single LAN port of the modem or the corporate network).
If, on the other hand, we have any problems while browsing via network sharing, we recommend reading the guide on how to solve network connection errors between computers .
READ ALSO -> Set the priority of network connections in Windows 7, 8 and 10
