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Forum Index : Other Stuff : My Data usage concerns
| Author | Message | ||||
| brucedownunder2 Guru  Joined: 14/09/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1548 |
Hi, I used to have 25Gb for the last couple of years ,that I can remember, it might be longer, anyhow , I'm with Telstra, and I started to get these worring reminders of that I was 50%, then85% ,used data of my 25 Gb. I recently had a discussion with the Telstra shop assistant concerning our connection to NBN and decided to join ,as the assistant told us we would be now ge on 59 Gb per month ,for an extra $5 ,bring us to $65 per month.. We sort of were assured that the extra 25Gb would be sufficient for our needs ,so we agreed... We have been on for this first month , and guess what ?,,,, we still get the same percentage usage reminders !!. We are two retired persons, with the internet account accessible to both of us on two Mac book pro's and one I-Pad of mine. We don,t download any films, or that heavy data stuff(I think). Just mail, facebook, backshed and a few other sites ,like the stock exchange, )Comsec) , hot Copper stock forum , ... sort of just family communication stuff... Can anybody advise me if I maybe have something open or on my computer that may be using all this data-, approx 1.5 Gb per day ,according to my usage of Data Telstra daily record... Got me worried, as I thought 50 would be heaps. Thanks for your help , sorry about the long story, Bruce Bushboy |
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| Godoh Guru Joined: 26/09/2020 Location: AustraliaPosts: 458 |
Hi Bruce we have 50 gig a month on the mobile network and never use anything like that amount. If you are using Windoze on your machines then you need to set them to a Metered Connection, that way they won't keep trying to download massive updates that you don't want. Other than that they are fleecing you. There may be some software out there that shows you how much you are downloading and uploading live , I don't know as I use Linux and have no problems like you. Cheers Pete |
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Revlac Guru Joined: 31/12/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1022 |
Bruce, I had a look around and many other people (in the big Swamp) have similar or the same problem excess data usage with no explanation as to what happened to it. Solution to the problem (as said by some) is to go to a different provider, but thats a PITA and could have the same problem.  Many years ago I had Dialup on the landline, slow as, data consumption was very little, upgraded the computer with a fairly high end CPU at the time, not long after I received a message, asking if they could use some of the computers excess CPU power to help with some processing something, obviously this was a bit useless on dial-up. Just thinking if this "shared computing" is being used on users computers without the users knowledge and chewing through Broadband Data? More likely, the Telco's Metering system sucks. Cheers Aaron Off The Grid |
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phil99 Guru Joined: 11/02/2018 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2135 |
1. Just in case you're sharing without knowing, change the Wi-Fi password. 2. Log into your account and check the daily usage history. If there is a big peak at the same time each month some of it may be OS updates. My Win10 uses 1GB to 5GB in the first week of each month for updates. Without movies you are unlikely to use more than 5 to 10GB per person per month. I have a 10GB cap and have never quite reached it. If pain persists, switch provider. Edited 2021-09-05 18:08 by phil99 |
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Chopperp Guru Joined: 03/01/2018 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1057 |
Does the daily records break down into hourly usage? Mine do with Westnet & Aldi May help if it does. (I can tell what time my wife has used Netflix) Brian ChopperP |
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| Chopperp Guru Joined: 03/01/2018 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1057 |
oops double post Edited 2021-09-05 22:24 by Chopperp ChopperP |
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| Warpspeed Guru Joined: 09/08/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 4406 |
I have been using NBN for years, first with a slow copper connection, and now broadband. Always well under the limit on the minimum plan, and that has never changed. Try connecting up a different computer, you may have some kind of malware, or someone routing their own data through your computer. I once received a written notification through Australia Post that my VPN had been cancelled because of an attempted fraud. I have NEVER had a VPN. There are some bad people out there. Cheers, Tony. |
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| Davo99 Guru Joined: 03/06/2019 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1578 |
I just wrote out a guide to checking what is happening I impressed myself with remembering it all and then I was about to post, I remembered you are using Apple and I know nothing about how to look at any controls resources and networking permissions with that. Can't help sorry other than say to check overall if it's you or the provider, Go cold turkey for a day ( check monitoring times on the network match up with local times or work them out) and switch your modem off completely so nothing can use any bandwidth. Then see how you go when you use nothing and what the providers monitoring says you used for the day. If you still get some big numbers, you know where the problem is. Other thing I'd think of with the limited information to hand is to ask if you don't have anything like a google assistant or some smart appliances like Fridges, Lightbulbs or something connected to the TV for movies or whatever do you? Far as I am aware most of the TV streaming don't count towards your net usage but I don't pretend to know them all or what their setup is. There are other things that could possibly be using your bandwidth as well. If you are in a suburban situation where neighbours are close enough to get a signal, The suggestion of Changing your password on the modem is a good one. Probably the 2nd thing your telco would ask if you have done anyway if you contact them about the problem. Might be an idea to turn the modem off anyway when not using the net and see if that makes a difference. |
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| brucedownunder2 Guru Joined: 14/09/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1548 |
Thank You very much to all the nice people that cared to reply.... I'll progressively check through the suggestions, all are very helpful. What a great forum we have, so thanks to Glenn for his idea and his hard work in keeping us guys in check..... Thanks again, Bruce and Ilda Bushboy |
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| Davo99 Guru Joined: 03/06/2019 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1578 |
Don't know what it is with the Net today but seems Slow as all over Sydney. Mrs is working from home and managing a team of about 20 and they have all been complaining of slow net. Variety of providers and wide spread locations so not sure what the problem is but certainly seeing it myself as well. |
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| Warpspeed Guru Joined: 09/08/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 4406 |
Seems pretty normal in Melbourne. Cheers, Tony. |
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| Davo99 Guru Joined: 03/06/2019 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1578 |
Seems to have got better over night. I read somewhere there was some Virus attack across the sydney network. I did some downloads and managed 142 Gb worth from about 12 Am till 7am. Can't begin to think why I fill up a lot of Hdd's? Actually I rarely download Movies and things but my own Photos and especially Videos take up a LOT of space. |
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| ryanm Senior Member  Joined: 25/09/2015 Location: AustraliaPosts: 202 |
https://www.obdev.at/products/littlesnitch/index.html Packet inspector for OS X. Will tell you exactly what's using the data. |
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