Setting Up a Computer as Router/Wireless AP

I don't have an internet access at home, and for awhile I had been using a method called tethering which is basically connecting a computer to the internet using your cellphone's internet connection.

This week I figured out a way to configure my netbook as both a Wireless Access Point (so other computers can wirelessly access it) and a router (so they all have internet access). All it requires is a wireless adapter and a version of Linux installed.

The way to do that is by installing an application called hostapd. It's freely available on Linux and once it's installed it will serve as an Access Point so anyone who does a wireless search to connect to the internet will find it. This application even offers some security features such as WEP, WAP and WAP2 authentication.
Once it's configured correctly and running, you also have to setup a DHCP server to give IP address setting to its associated users. After that, you have to configure NAT (masquerading) and IP Forwarding (routing) using iptables so that users are able to share a single internet connection.
I have also upgraded my T-Mobile plan to the Unlimited 4G Plan and am going to use my Nokia E72 as a modem, my netbook as a router and wireless access point in order to share a single internet connection to all users in the household. Hopefully T-Mobile will keep its promise of unlimited "4G" without any data cap. Fingers crossed.