Remember Connectify? The downloadable software that turns PCs into Wi-Fi hotspots in just a few minutes? It looks like the company now has a new investor: In-Q-Tel (IQT), which just so happens to be the strategic investment firm that seeks out new technologies for the U.S. Intelligence Community, including the CIA.
The new funding will help Connectify move beyond simple Wi-Fi hotspot creation, a decidedly consumer-facing service, in order to focus on VPNs (virtual private networks). Using similar easy-to-install software, Connectify will soon enable users to spontaneously create self-forming VPNs without dialing into a central location. The VPNs will also leverage the combined throughput and reliability of all the available Internet connections, the company says.
The additional security and feature set will be integrated into both Connectify’s current product line-up as well as into its upcoming and yet-to-announced products.
Connectify informs us that it can’t disclose the amount of funding IQT provided due to the organization’s sensitive mission involving bringing technology to the U.S. intelligence community.
Still, it’s easy to envision potential use cases for the technology, especially in situations where authoritarian government regimes watch over their citizens’ Internet communications far too closely. But the enhanced security will benefit stateside consumers too, by offering a safer way to share your Internet access with those around you.
And here we were thinking Windows PC software was boring…consider our interest piqued.
Connectify develops a cutting-edge PC and mobile app suite that helps consumers stay connected across their various devices and network connections. With Connectify, today’s click-of-a-button Wi-Fi sharing capabilities meet tomorrow’s innovation, letting users draw on the speed of multiple Internet connections in an unprecedented way, while offering a platform to share and collaborate. And while consumers carry yet another Wi-Fi capable device and encounter an ever-increasing number of networks in their daily lives, Connectify’s mission is simple: take the Internet, and...
Seattle, WA
San Diego, CA
Menlo Park, CA
Berlin, Germany
Boston, MA
Berlin, Germany
