Internet Usage Monitor

BigAl127

BigAl127

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Is there anyway I can find out who/what is using my internet ?

The reason I ask, is that my isp is currently showing that around 45% of the monthly allowance has been used in the past 9 days, and based on this usage, we will exceed the allowance this month, and therefore incur extra charges, which i'm trying to avoid.

Ideally, i'd like a program or way, that logs each users log on and logoff time and the amount they've used. I'm not particularly bothered which sites they've visited as we're all adults.

My isp is BT Total Broadband if that helps.
 
You should be able to go to your BT account and there is a section there that shows you what usage you used. I tend to check towards the end of each month now we've dropped down to the basic package.

Di
 
Thanks Di, for your prompt reply. That's where i've already checked, that's how i know that 45% of my allowance has been used so far.

That's why i want to go a step further, and actually find out which pc/laptop is logging on, and how much bandwidth each one is actually using. I do have my own thoughts as to how it's being used, just need verification really.
 
If you think someone's piggybacking on your wi-fi, the simplest thing to do is turn the router off when you're offline - maybe even unplug the lead from the 'phone socket. Of the dozen or so networks within range, there are at least 3 unprotected networks, although on the rare occasions I've connected to them, mine seems to be the fastest. However, it could come in handy should I ever get IP banned from a forum again.
 
Thanks Nod. I always turn the hub off when not in use, and whilst Piggybacking (though i'm protected. and I realise that's not 100% the case), was one of my initial thoughts, but it's not my first thought.

I'm reckoning the usage is high, because of someone in the family using webcam/skype type programs to chat abroad. Though, i'm not really familiar with skype and other similiar sites/software, having never used them myself.
 
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I don't think you can track bandwidth use for individual devices unless it's a function of your router's firmware and for some reason it isn't a common feature (so far as I can tell).

Anything with video is a likely culprit. My sister used to always destroy our bandwidth limits by using YouTube all day long and thought that because you're not clicking a download link it arrived on your screen by magic and didn't use up bandwidth. Peer to peer programs are a possibility too, a lot of people download them and don't realise they're sat uploading stuff to other people.

Skype to people abroad should be the same as Skype to someone next door but the combination of video and audio streaming could use up a fair bit of bandwidth, particularly if it's a high video resolution.
 
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Wouldn't it be easier just to talk to you family about any excessive internet usage rather than trying to spy on their activity? :thinking:
 
Thanks Darren for that info, it's along the lines of what I myself was thinking, but I was hoping there'd be some 3rd party software that would allow monitoring of individual devices.

Do the games on Facebook use much bandwidth, e.g. Bejewelled Blitz, Farm Town, Farm ville etc?
 
BigAl127 said:
Thanks Darren for that info, it's along the lines of what I myself was thinking, but I was hoping there'd be some 3rd party software that would allow monitoring of individual devices.

Do the games on Facebook use much bandwidth, e.g. Bejewelled Blitz, Farm Town, Farm ville etc?
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Not particularly I wouldn't expect. What's your monthly download limit?
 
Limit is 10gb, but from the 1st Sept to the 9th Sept @ 23:59 there's been 4.37 gb used with 5.63 gb remaining. Bearing in mind, which I forgot to mention earlier. We had 3 days where we had no broadband because of a fault at the exchange.

The last 6 days use we've had have been 0.58 gb, 1.14gb, 1.04gb, 0.36gb, 0.30gb and 0.95gb. Figures taken from the BT Account usage monitor.
 
I had the same problem in South Africa on hard wired ADSL. Bandwidth was limited and I had a 2GB cap (the maximum was 5GB then, and it cost a fortune). That was always more than enough, but it started running out, a couple of weeks into the billing cycle, around 2007 - 2008. I checked the daily usage and found sudden spikes, for no apparent reason. My daughter I were the only people living in the house then, and she wasn't into downloading music or video, so it was inexplicable. The ISP checked and couldn't suggest anything, other than upgrading my account. They were quite surprised when I told them I wasn't interested, I'd just do without ADSL until the next cycle started, but I never got to the bottom of it. Wireless, yes, people can steal broadband on an insecure connection; but hard wired? Was I too suspicious, thinking the ISP might just more know more about this than they were prepared to say? Constant badgering to upgrade my account?
 
TriggerHappy said:
Wouldn't it be easier just to talk to you family about any excessive internet usage rather than trying to spy on their activity? :thinking:
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I have spoken to the family about it, and they categorically deny it's them using it. I only use the net for about half a dozen forums, occassional e-mails, bbc news and sports sites, but haven't so far viewed any videos on any of them. Haven't used youtube, or downloaded any music or videos.

The wife has very little knowledge of computers, but mainly uses FB for a couple of games.

So that leaves my assumption, that's the skype/webcam chat that using the bandwidth.

It's not a case of spying, because we all want to know what's taking up the bandwidth, but it's the wife and I who pay the bill.
 
just a niggle at the back of my mind from ancient days when i used dial-up

are there any programs like OpenOffice, Norton AV or McAfee AV which keep checking for updates...?
 
mithrandir said:
You should use THIS programme which I use. It's got an array of options to view.
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Thanks for that link, now downloaded and running.

Yardbent said:
just a niggle at the back of my mind from ancient days when i used dial-up
are there any programs like OpenOffice, Norton AV or McAfee AV which keep checking for updates...?
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The only one i can think of, is my Avast antivirus.
 
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BigAl127 said:
The only one i can think of, is my Avast antivirus.
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i know nothing about PCs.........:D

but maybe disable the 'check for updates on start-up' and just update yourself
 
Yardbent said:
i know nothing about PCs.........:D

but maybe disable the 'check for updates on start-up' and just update yourself
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Wouldn't recommend disabling update of AV personally, the updates certainly wont account for that amount of data.

If you're sure your wireless is secure, someone is telling porkies.. Any chance anyone could be watching videos they won't admit to for example ;)
 
If you are worried about unknown devices (laptops / phones etc) logging on to you wireless and using your bandwidth then you can log on to the router and check connected devices.

When on the router you can also set up 'access control.' With access control you can close off internet access to certain devices at certain times. You can also set up the router to powerdown and power up at certain times, mine is set to sleep between midnight and 6am.

If you are concerned that a device may be accessing bandwidth rich online services then you can also block the associated websites on by using the firewall on said device. I use McAfee and this is done by configuring 'program permissions' which basically tells the firewall what programs are allowed to communicate with the internet.
 
neil_g said:
If you're sure your wireless is secure, someone is telling porkies.. Any chance anyone could be watching videos they won't admit to for example ;)
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I'm as sure as I can be that the wireless is secure. As for the videos there's every possibility.
 
theboss said:
move to virgin, they have no download limits :)
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I've just moved from Virgin after a major fallout with them, after being a loyal customer from when they were Diamond Cable and before they became NTL. Well over 20yrs, and customer loyalty means nothing.

Though I might live to regret it.
 
I wouldn't switch my router off whilst not in use personally, that could bring up problems with line stability and connections etc. You should try to keep it live 24/7 for the best speed when you actually want to use it.

You can check logs of users and machines on most routers which could be a start.
 
I have a desktop gadget running called Network Meter. It not only shows your current download speed and activity on a graph, it also keeps a cumulative running total of up and download amounts.

If you had it running on all PC's you'd soon know which one was eating data. If the answer is none of them then you may have a wireless security problem and a neighbour downloading.

Think this belongs in computers...... moving thread
 
BigAl127 said:
I've just moved from Virgin after a major fallout with them, after being a loyal customer from when they were Diamond Cable and before they became NTL. Well over 20yrs, and customer loyalty means nothing.
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Quite correct - I did the same after being royally screwed by them.

Now I use a 3G "dongle" which costs £15.00 a month for 3Gb which I find perfectly adequate for what I do.

Not a contract - just pay for it when you need it and it works fine where I am.

I also don't need a router as I can just swap it from computer to computer and it installs itself.

Simples!

.
 
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I'd look around for a different ISP if your hitting a download limit.

Mine has no download limit and is £14.29 a month, they used to called freedom2surf then Opal and now TalkTalk Business, they just keep being bought out, and even now it's a talk talk brand I've had no problems.

There are plenty of ISP to try and swapping is not that hard.
 
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I ended up going with BT because most other ISP's require a BT telephone line ( other than using a dongle as previously suggested). Having been with Virgin for over 20 yrs, I didn't have a BT Line.

With BT I got free Installation of the line (Usually £130) subject to making 10 calls per months, which is easily achieved here. So i'm now in an 18th month contract, and what I thought at the time was an adequate Broadband package.

During the time of changeover, I had to use my mobile phone as a modem, and use the internet allowance of 1gb a month from my contract. The most I used was 750 - 800 mb per month, so I thought 10gb with BT would be more than adequate. Looks like I might have to upgrade my package.
 
Download limits? Are we back in the 90s? Bizarre.

Anti-virus updates aren't going to be using much bandwidth....although a reasonably heavy Microsoft patch day could eat up a fair bit of bandwidth if you have several computers on the network.

If you really are sure that no-one is actively downloading large amounts of data, then it is possible one of the machines on the network is infected with a botnet client. It will be easy enough to spot if you install a network monitor though.
 
I installed Networx has recommended by mithrandir on Saturday evening. So yesterday was the first full day of the monitor running. I'm going to check the usage against what it says on my account online and then take things from there.

Thanks everyone so far for your input. It's much appreciated. Please keep any ideas coming though.
 
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Just a thought, but your are not on a mac and got the loin update, because that will kill your usage allowance. ;)
 
I'm on a Windows PC, with Xp Pro and SP3 installed. Now got Networx running on 2 pc's and adding the total usage together, the BT account is showing roughly the same usage, +/- 2 or 3 mb.

I have now managed to access my router/hub control panel and can see if any wireless devices are connecting to the system, so hopefully i'll be able to get some answers fairly soon.

It just goes to show that when you're used to an unlimited service, then swap to one with a limit on it, that you realise just how much bandwidth you were using, and what uses it.
 
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