Connectify Editor's Review

Easily create and connect all of your wireless devices with this handy networking utility

I can remember back in the 1990's when computing was just in its infancy. Back then, no one hardly ever got online. If you did, it was with a dialup connection, and then you likely had AOL, CompuServe, MSN or some other online service. Normally, what you did was dial up, get in, get what you needed and then IMMEDIATELY get off. If you didn't, you likely ended up using (nearly) all of your monthly connect time, and after that, it got really expensive.

Computing today is TOTALLY different. People are connected all the time. Quite honestly now-a-days, NOT getting online often seems to be a waste of time unless you have specific computing tasks to do – writing a report, tweaking a presentation you already have on your hard drive, or working on a spreadsheet. Most other modern computing activities require some kind of internet connectivity. It's simply a given.

When it comes to finding an available, trusted internet connection in today's malware ridden, maze of untrusted networks isn't easy. This is why apps like Connectify are so important. It’s a networking and hotspot tool for Windows.

With Connectify, you can easily create a Wi-Fi hotspot that will allow you to connect all of your wireless devices to the internet, while on the go. Connectify isn’t just the world’s most powerful hotspot app, it’s the easiest, to use. All you have to do is give your Hotspot a name and password. After that, you’re ready to go.

You can share any internet connection as a Wi-Fi hotspot. It doesn't matter if that’s an existing Wi-Fi connection, a wired Ethernet connection, or even a 4G LTE network. However, doing THAT will require you to upgrade to Connectify's Pro or Max version.

Some of the coolest parts of the app, however, don't have much to do with actually creating a network signal. Some of the cool stuff comes from some of the ancillary functionality that's included in the app. Connectify will monitory your network usage, by device. You can track down that friend who’s using all your bandwidth. Connectify's newest feature gives you real-time graphs of your data usage at a glance.

App Pro’s: Connectivity everywhere, Access files on all connected devices, network monitoring utilities

App Con’s: subscription based

Conclusion: Get access to the internet is a necessity for many people today. Much of what we use computers for today involves some kind of network functionality or connectivity from sharing files across devices to checking email, or sharing photos. Insuring you have the connectivity you need WHEN and WHERE you need it can sometimes be problematic, especially when you don't have a data plan for every device you own. With Connectify, those troubles are greatly lessened.

The app is a huge boon to those that need internet on devices that for some reason don't or won't connect to some Wi-Fi networks but will connect to others. Keeping track of how much bandwidth you've burned and who's the bandwidth hog on your network used to be mysteries, but now, with included utilities, you can easily figure out both of those things.

Connectify comes in four different flavors – free/ 30 day trial version, Hotspot Pro, Hotspot Max and Hotspot Max Bundle. Each version is subscription based, however, and unless you buy the lifetime version, you're going to be renewing your license next year. If you like Connectify and feel that its bringing value to your online experience, do yourself a favor and buy the lifetime version of whatever flavor you're interested in. The lifetime license isn't all that much more expensive, and once you start your fourth year of use, you break even on the purchase.