Virtual Wi-Fi Router 2

ntThis utility has a very clean and easy to use interface that allows you to assign a password to your virtual access point to prevent unauthorized access. The interface even offers a tab that lets you confirm who is using the wireless access point.

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ntCredit: Images by Brien M. Posey for TechRepublic

Virtual Wi-Fi Router 3

ntCredit: Images by Brien M. Posey for TechRepublic

Virtual Wi-Fi Router 4

ntCredit: Images by Brien M. Posey for TechRepublic

Hotspot Shield 1

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nt2. Hotspot Shield

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ntHotspot Shield is a free utility that is designed to help protect your privacy when you connect to public Wi-Fi hotspots.

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ntCredit: Images by Brien M. Posey for TechRepublic

Hotspot Shield 2

ntThe program has a very simplistic interface, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t work well. Once protection is enabled you can click on a Test Protection link to verify that the utility is working. Doing so takes you to TestMyIP.org. In my case, my static IP was hidden and TestMyIP.org thought that I was located somewhere in Los Angeles instead of on the east coast where I actually reside.

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ntCredit: Images by Brien M. Posey for TechRepublic

Hotspot Shield 3

ntCredit: Images by Brien M. Posey for TechRepublic

Hotspot Shield 4

ntCredit: Images by Brien M. Posey for TechRepublic

WiFi Guardian 1

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nt3. WiFi Guardian

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ntWiFi Guardian is designed to protect your privacy by redirecting your Internet connectivity to a proxy server that allows your session to be encrypted and made anonymous. The software does require you to create an account and to choose a WiFi Guardian server to use as a proxy. Servers are available in the United Kingdom, France, and Australia.

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ntCredit: Images by Brien M. Posey for TechRepublic

WiFi Guardian 2

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ntWiFi Guardian sells for $49.95, but a free 3-day trial is available for download.

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ntCredit: Images by Brien M. Posey for TechRepublic

WiFi Guardian 3

ntCredit: Images by Brien M. Posey for TechRepublic

Xirrus Wi-Fi Inspector 1

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nt4. Xirrus Wi-Fi Inspector

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ntXirrus Wi-Fi Inspector is a free tool designed to help you to verify the health of your wireless network. Upon launching the tool, you must select your computer’s wireless network adapter. After doing so, the utility will display some vital statistics for your Wi-Fi connection, such as the SSID, IP address, etc.

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ntCredit: Images by Brien M. Posey for TechRepublic

Xirrus Wi-Fi Inspector 2

ntThe utility also keeps track of your wireless signal strength on a graph at the bottom of the interface. Buttons at the top of the interface link to external Web sites that can be used to test your connection speed and quality.

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ntCredit: Images by Brien M. Posey for TechRepublic

Xirrus Wi-Fi Inspector 3

ntCredit: Images by Brien M. Posey for TechRepublic

WiFi Profile Manager 1

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nt5. WiFi Profile Manager

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ntWiFi Profile Manager is a free utility that is designed to manage wireless network connections on a computer that is running Windows 8. The utility can make a Wi-Fi connection the default for your computer and can move access points up and down a list by order of priority. A Properties screen displays vital statistics (such as the encryption key) for connections.

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ntOne of the nice things about this utility is that it is completely portable. The utility consists of a single executable file that can be run on any Windows 8 PC without having to be installed.

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ntCredit: Images by Brien M. Posey for TechRepublic

WiFi Profile Manager 2

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ntAlso read:

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• nttFive free network analyzers worth any IT admin’s time

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• nttReview: Spiceworks network management

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• nttManage performance of Windows Server 2012 with System Center Monitoring Pack

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ntCredit: Images by Brien M. Posey for TechRepublic