Connectify () is an American

software Software consists of computer programs that instruct the Execution (computing), execution of a computer. Software also includes design documents and specifications. The history of software is closely tied to the development of digital comput ...

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

Microsoft Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

. Speedify is a mobile VPN bonding service and app with

channel bonding In computer networking, link aggregation is the combining (wikt:aggregation, aggregating) of multiple network connections in parallel by any of several methods. Link aggregation increases total throughput beyond what a single connection could ...

capabilities, that helps combine Wi-Fi, 4G, 5G, Ethernet, Starlink and Satellite connections at the same time. Powered by Speedify delivers embedded solutions for routers, networking appliances, and smart devices.

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 Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...

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

wireless access point In Computer networking device, computer networking, a wireless access point (WAP) (also just access point (AP)) is a networking hardware device that allows other Wi-Fi devices to connect to a wired network or wireless network. As a standalone ...

. 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 that 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

SSID In IEEE 802.11 wireless local area networking standards (including Wi‑Fi), a service set is a group of wireless network devices which share a ''service set identifier'' (''SSID'')—typically the natural language label that users see as a netw ...

s 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 companies to keep the Central Intelligence Agency, and other intelligence agencies, equipped with the lates ...

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, alternative finance, to fund projects "withou ...

site

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

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 ''Resource'' refers to all the materials available in our environment which are Technology, technologically accessible, Economics, economically ...

which could combine any number of

mobile Internet The mobile web comprises 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 World ...

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, Unix-based operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 2001. It is the current operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. With ...

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

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

and Android. In December 2016, Speedify added encryption on all supported platforms, turning it into a mobile virtual private network. Connectify released other apps: Pingify (in 2017) - a mobile network diagnostics tool, and EdgeWise Connect (in 2019), which were eventually discontinued.

Products

Speedify

Speedify is a software-based channel bonding service available app for devices running Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, iPadOS and routers running

OpenWrt OpenWrt (from ''open wireless router'') is an open-source project for embedded operating systems based on Linux kernel, Linux, primarily used on Embedded system, embedded devices to Router (computing), route network traffic. The main components ...

. 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. Link aggregation increases total throughput beyond what a single connection could sustain, and prov ...

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 ...

protection. Speedify 1.0 was launched in June 2014 as a

service. 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 identify ...

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's version 14, launched in 2023, introduced Pair & Share. This allows sharing cellular connections back and forth between multiple Speedify users on the same local network wirelessly. The Speedify app 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. It ...

plans available, as well as access to dedicated VPN servers. Tom's Guide picked Speedify as the fastest VPN in late 2018. Speedify became Citrix Ready in late 2019.

Speedify for enterprise

Speedify's solutions for companies include: * Speedify Teams is a multi-seat Speedify mobile VPN

with added centralized account management capabilities. * Speedify SDK allows developers to build the Speedify functionality into their own apps on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android. * Powered by Speedify allows vendors to embed Speedify into their networking devices. As of October 2024, Miri Technologies and Magewell released the Miri X510 bonding router.

Connectify Hotspot

Connectify Hotspot is a virtual router

software application Application software is any computer program that is intended for end-user use not computer operator, operating, system administration, administering or computer programming, programming the computer. An application (app, application program, sof ...

available for PCs running

Windows 7 Windows 7 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was Software release life cycle#Release to manufacturing (RTM), released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009, and became generally available on October 22, ...

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 by ...

- users can share the

Internet connection Internet access is a facility or service that provides connectivity for a computer, a computer network, or other network device to the Internet, and for individuals or organizations to access or use applications such as email and the World Wide ...

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 LTE may refer to: Science and technology * LTE (telecommunication) (Long-Term Evolution), a mobile telephony standard ** LTE Advanced, an enhancement ** LTE Advanced Pro, a further enhancement * Compaq LTE, a line of laptop computers * Leukotrie ...

. 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 and

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

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 or browsers with inside blocking. Hist ...

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

Discontinued apps

Pingify was a free utility for testing network coverage, Internet reliability and VPN dependability. It was available for

devices, helping 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 was a simple

VPN Virtual private network (VPN) is a network architecture for virtually extending a private network (i.e. any computer network which is not the public Internet) across one or multiple other networks which are either untrusted (as they are not c ...

available for

iPhone The iPhone is a line of smartphones developed and marketed by Apple that run iOS, the company's own mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by then–Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, at ...

and Android which could seamlessly move web traffic between the

and cellular data connections. The service used

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

plans available.

References

External links

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