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Mario in Windsor Ontario Canada listens on AM800 CKLW and asked: " I would like to create a home network. I have two computers at home. One is a laptop running Windows 10 Home, the other is a desktop running Windows 7 Ultimate. I would like to have the ability to move files across the network. But also access applications across the network. Can this be done through networking or do I have to create a VPN, and if so, how can I create a home-based VPN?"

Mario, you shouldn’t need a VPN. A VPN would allow you to build a virtual network that would make your devices act is if they were connected to your local network but what you need is just that local network.

Setting up that local network should be simple, search Windows for “Network and Sharing Center”, open it and click on “Set up a new connection or network.” After that Windows should guide you through the process.

The fact that one computer is running Windows 10 and the other Windows 7 won’t matter and you will be able to run share files between them.

You will probably have a problem with something else though, you mentioned being able to access applications on the other computer. Depending on how simple they are and how they’re installed, that may be possible, but there’s a good chance you won’t be able to run quite a few of them.

Most rely on a local installation and local files, and they’re not optimized deal with network lag. Unless you’re thinking about very simple, self-contained, single-file applications, odds are you won’t have much success there.

Installing a program on one machine and running it on another one would also be an easy way to bypass single-user licenses, and paid software makers don’t like to make it easy to steal their products, so that’s another reason you probably won’t be able to run most applications this day.

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