Connectify () is an American

software Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. At the lowest programming level, executable code consists ...

company that develops networking software for consumers, professionals and companies. Connectify Hotspot is a virtual router software for

Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

, and Speedify is a

mobile VPN Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ...

service with

channel bonding In computer networking, link aggregation is the combining ( aggregating) of multiple network connections in parallel by any of several methods, in order to increase throughput beyond what a single connection could sustain, to provide redundan ...

capabilities available for individuals, families and teams.

History

Connectify launched their first product, Connectify Hotspot, in October 2009. It can enable a Windows PC to serve as a router over

Ethernet Ethernet () is a family of wired computer networking technologies commonly used in local area networks (LAN), metropolitan area networks (MAN) and wide area networks (WAN). It was commercially introduced in 1980 and first standardized in 198 ...

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wave ...

. Along with a Windows 7, 8 or 10 certified Wi-Fi device it can act as a

wireless access point In computer networking, a wireless access point (WAP), or more generally just access point (AP), is a networking hardware device that allows other Wi-Fi devices to connect to a wired network. As a standalone device, the AP may have a wired co ...

. This enables users to share files, printers, and Internet connections between multiple computing devices without the need for a separate physical access point or router. Connectify spent the next two years improving the product, first making it free and

ad-supported Online advertising, also known as online marketing, Internet advertising, digital advertising or web advertising, is a form of marketing and advertising which uses the Internet to promote products and services to audiences and platform users. ...

. In 2011, Connectify switched to a freemium commercial model which included premium features for paying customers. These features included extended support of 3G/ 4G mobile devices, fully customizable SSIDs and premium customer support. In 2011, Connectify received funding from

In-Q-Tel In-Q-Tel (IQT), formerly Peleus and In-Q-It, is an American not-for-profit venture capital firm based in Arlington, Virginia. It invests in high-tech companies to keep the Central Intelligence Agency, and other intelligence agencies, equipped with ...

to begin developing a more powerful and secure remote networking platform and a connection-aggregation application. Connectify used this funding to develop the foundation of the application, and then in 2012 turned to the

crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...

site

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

to raise additional funding to develop Connectify Dispatch. Dispatch was a

load balancer In computing, load balancing is the process of distributing a set of tasks over a set of resources (computing units), with the aim of making their overall processing more efficient. Load balancing can optimize the response time and avoid unevenl ...

which could combine any number of

mobile Internet The mobile web refers to mobile browser-based World Wide Web services accessed from handheld mobile devices, such as smartphones or feature phones, through a mobile or other wireless network. History and development Traditionally, the Worl ...

connections. In 2014, Connectify launched Speedify, a

application for PCs running

and

macOS macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and lapt ...

. In January 2016, Speedify for Mobile was launched at CES, adding support for

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...

and Android. In December 2016, Speedify added encryption on all supported platforms, turning it into a

mobile virtual private network A mobile virtual private network (mobile VPN or mVPN) is a VPN which is capable of persisting during sessions across changes in physical connectivity, point of network attachment, and IP address.Phifer, Lisa"Mobile VPN: Closing the Gap" ''SearchMob ...

. Connectify released other apps: Pingify (in 2017) - a mobile network diagnostics tool, and EdgeWise Connect (in 2019).

Products

Connectify Hotspot

Connectify Hotspot is a virtual router

software application Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. At the lowest programming level, executable code consists ...

available for PCs running

Windows 7 Windows 7 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009, and became generally available on October 22, 2009. It is the successor to Windows Vista, released nearly ...

or a later version. It was launched in 2009 by Connectify and it has 3 main functions: *

Wi-Fi hotspot A hotspot is a physical location where people can obtain Internet access, typically using Wi-Fi technology, via a wireless local-area network (WLAN) using a router connected to an Internet service provider. Public hotspots may be created b ...

- users can share the

Internet connection Internet access is the ability of individuals and organizations to connect to the Internet using computer terminals, computers, and other devices; and to access services such as email and the World Wide Web. Internet access is sold by Internet ...

from their PC through a Wi-Fi adapter. The free version of Connectify Hotspot only allows sharing of wired or Wi-Fi Internet via Wi-Fi. The paid versions allow users to share any type of Internet connection, including 4G / LTE. through Wi-Fi or

. * Wired router - users can share a computer's Wi-Fi connection via Ethernet. This functionality is only available in the paid versions of Connectify Hotspot. * Wi-Fi

repeater In telecommunications, a repeater is an electronic device that receives a signal and retransmits it. Repeaters are used to extend transmissions so that the signal can cover longer distances or be received on the other side of an obstruction. Some ...

- users can extend the range of a

Wi-Fi network Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network Communication protocol, protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital d ...

and

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

other devices on that network directly. This functionality is only available in the paid versions of Connectify Hotspot. Starting with version 2017, Connectify Hotspot also incorporates a universal

ad blocker Ad blocking or ad filtering is a software capability for blocking or altering online advertising in a web browser, an application or a network. This may be done using browser extensions or other methods. Technologies and native countermeasures ...

for clients connecting to the Wi-Fi or Ethernet network it creates. This feature is available for free.

Speedify

Speedify is a

bonding service available for devices running Windows, macOS, Android and iOS. Speedify 1.0 was launched in June 2014 as a

service. Speedify can combine multiple Internet connections given its

link aggregation In computer networking, link aggregation is the combining ( aggregating) of multiple network connections in parallel by any of several methods, in order to increase throughput beyond what a single connection could sustain, to provide redundan ...

capabilities. In theory, this should offer faster Internet connection speeds and

failover Failover is switching to a redundant or standby computer server, system, hardware component or network upon the failure or abnormal termination of the previously active application, server, system, hardware component, or network in a computer net ...

protection. Starting 2016, as a VPN service, Speedify's

privacy policy A privacy policy is a statement or legal document (in privacy law) that discloses some or all of the ways a party gathers, uses, discloses, and manages a customer or client's data. Personal information can be anything that can be used to identif ...

states they do not log what users do or what sites they visit through the Speedify service. Starting with version 10, in 2020, Speedify provides QoS for live streams with its new streaming mode, which dynamically prioritizes streaming traffic. Speedify can be used for free for the first 2 GB each month; there are monthly and yearly

subscription The subscription business model is a business model in which a customer must pay a recurring price at regular intervals for access to a product or service. The model was pioneered by publishers of books and periodicals in the 17th century, and ...

plans available. Tom's Guide picked Speedify as the fastest VPN in late 2018. Speedify became Citrix Ready in late 2019.

Speedify for Teams

Speedify for Teams is Connectify's business product. It is basically a multi-seat Speedify

with added centralized account management capabilities.

Pingify

Pingify is a free utility for testing

network coverage In telecommunications, the coverage of a radio station is the geographic area where the station can communicate. Broadcasters and telecommunications companies frequently produce coverage maps to indicate to users the station's intended service a ...

, Internet reliability and VPN dependability. It's currently available for

devices - it helps you run ping on your iPhone. Pingify was developed as an internal testing tool for Speedify on iOS - a mobile network diagnostics tool. Then, in 2017, it was made publicly available.

EdgeWise Connect

EdgeWise Connect is a simple

VPN A virtual private network (VPN) extends a private network across a public network and enables users to send and receive data across shared or public networks as if their computing devices were directly connected to the private network. The be ...

available for iPhone and Android which can seamlessly move web traffic between the

and cellular data connections. The service uses

technology and is fully encrypted. EdgeWise Connect was launched in early 2019 and can be used for free for a few hours each day; there are monthly and yearly

plans available.

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.connectify.me
Speedify websiteEdgeWise Connect websitePingify website
2009 software Windows-only shareware Windows-only freeware Communication software Routing software File sharing software Servers (computing)