Creating a server on your computer means that the resources of that pc become available externally, on the internet. A server can be of different types depending on the service it makes available to the outside: a webserver hosts a website, a fileserver is an archive of files and so you can have a server for chat, for music, for videos and many other applications of different types.
There are several ways to create a server from a simple computer and there is a free program called Weezo with which you can open a remote access for sharing files and other files on your PC, such as photos, music, videos. and documents .
Using this server application it is possible to access the elements of the computer from a remote location, via the internet, or share resources with friends in a real website, without limits.
Unlike other applications for sharing files or for streaming music and videos, if the PC becomes a server it means that there is no other external service to pass through.
The connection that is made from the outside takes place directly, from PC to PC, without uploading anything to external servers.
Obviously, if you have a Windows Server PC, the tools to publish resources or applications on the internet are already integrated in the system which however is not easy to configure (knowing how to use Windows Server means being a professional systems engineer).
Especially for home use or for small offices, the application for Windows Weezo can be useful, which simplifies the process of sharing resources externally in an extreme way, doing all the work automatically.
All that remains is for the user to create a user with a password that can be provided to anyone authorized to use the files and folders.
A prerequisite for using Weezo, which uses the UPnP service to map ports, is having a router to connect to the internet, which not everyone has.
Weezo is the most complete program of this type because, for free and without limits (at least for now), it allows the sharing of data, music, videos, documents, etc., to open remote desktop access, a theoretical remote start and shutdown ( see Wake-on-lan to turn on a PC remotely), to communicate online with chat and video chat and also to monitor an environment via live webcam.
Weezo also supports streaming multimedia content from your computer, so you can watch videos and listen to music that are on the server, without downloading them.
The download of Weezo is free and the installation is very simple, with no particular configurations to follow.
The program can also be downloaded in a portable version and supports some plugins to increase its functionality.
You must register with username, password and email address to be confirmed and validated.
When configuring Weezo, the Windows firewall should ask for permissions to pass the program over the network so you need to allow access.
Once the setup process is complete, you will be asked to start Weezo in simple or expert mode.
As mentioned above, the application has no difficult options or complicated configuration menus so sharing content is quite easy.
The only problem is that the router must accept UPnP mapping and it should be enabled in the options.
Guides for port forwarding and configuring a wireless router may be helpful.
At the end you can connect to the resources shared by the computer-server using a web browser, a computer or even a smartphone or mobile phone, by connecting to an address like weezo.net/pomhey
The resource pane on the left has several categories, such as files, music sharing, video sharing, webcams, multimedia, photo albums, chats and more.
Sharing settings are displayed in the right pane.
To share a folder or file, just choose the category in the left pane, enter a folder name and drag and drop files or entire folders that you want to share in this area.
The web address and password is then generated to view these files on the internet.
The link can be shared via QR code or via Email, Facebook, Twitter or AddThis.
The website that sees the resources shared by the server is an HTML5 web app (also visible from an iPad) capable of viewing documents online, streaming videos, listening to music with a player directly from the web browser, without therefore need to download content.
All the other categories are easy to configure in the same way, inserting the files in the various areas according to their typology.
Among the more advanced functions there is also an Apache server with which you can publish your website on the internet, transforming your PC into a webserver.
Weezo supports Wordpress, Joomla and many other CMS.
In this video, you can watch a 3 minute summary guide for setting up and using Weezo Server.
If Weezo doesn't work or if you are looking for alternatives, there are still other programs to turn your computer into a file server, including the excellent Tonido Cloud Drive program.
