Have you ever wondered what that USB port on your Wi-Fi router is for? Most modern routers have at least one or maybe two, and today we'll take a look at how to set it up with a hard or flash drive that you can use to share content across your local network.

Note: For this article I'm using a Cisco Linksys E4200 Wi-Fi router. The interface for each router manufacturer will, of course, vary, and have different options for sharing the drive. Here's a look at using Windows to access the drive, which is the same process for any router with a connected USB drive, despite its internal software features.