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Abnormal data usage


blackrose

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I use my 25GB data allowance on my phone and tether to my laptop to get internet access. It used to be fine and I was only using a maximum of about 8GB/month, but in the last couple of months I've been going over my limit and I haven't been doing anything different. Someone in the Vodaphone shop looked at my phone and told me it was the background apps in my laptop that were doing the damage. I've found the settings in Google chrome and there is an option in the advanced settings which says "Continue running background apps when Chrome is closed". This was switched on but I have now switched it off. But what about when Google chrome is open? Surely I don't want any background apps running then either? Is there an option to switch them off? Also if anyone has any other ideas on settings to reduce data usage I'm all ears.

Thanks.

It's an old PC running Windows 7., tethered to a fairly new Android phone.

Edited by blackrose
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2 minutes ago, blackrose said:

Also if anyone has any other ideas on how to reduce data usage I'm all ears.

Under privacy and security settings check to see if "Use a prediction service to load pages more quickly" is enabled.  This starts loading the links from the pages you are viewing in the background, in case you want to see them.

Alternatively I seem to recall Opera having a setting that compresses data on their servers so you download less.

Another thing to check would be for presence of malware; I used a lot of data with one infection that kept trying to download other nasties repeatedly while a virus checker was busy deleting them on arrival.

 

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2 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Try dumping / removing chrome.

What's a better browser to install - or you mean just re-install chrome?

1 minute ago, peter n said:

Under privacy and security settings check to see if "Use a prediction service to load pages more quickly" is enabled.  This starts loading the links from the pages you are viewing in the background, in case you want to see them. It was switched on - I have switched it off.

Alternatively I seem to recall Opera having a setting that compresses data on their servers so you download less.

Another thing to check would be for presence of malware; I used a lot of data with one infection that kept trying to download other nasties repeatedly while a virus checker was busy deleting them on arrival. I've done a scan fairly recently.

 

 

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14 minutes ago, blackrose said:

It's an old PC running Windows 7., tethered to a fairly new Android phone.

 

A new phone? Is this the issue? Many phone manufacturers put all sorts of Apps on the phone that consume data.

Another is to look at task manager -> Resource monitor and look for network usage and which program is using data.

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4 minutes ago, Mikexx said:

 

A new phone? Is this the issue? Many phone manufacturers put all sorts of Apps on the phone that consume data.

No, it's not the phone - the data usage app on the phone shows that tethering is consuming all the data and within that it's background data usage by the PC. 

5 minutes ago, Mikexx said:

Another is to look at task manager -> Resource monitor and look for network usage and which program is using data.

Is that on the phone or laptop?

Edited by blackrose
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17 minutes ago, blackrose said:

No, it's not the phone - the data usage app on the phone shows that tethering is consuming all the data and within that it's background data usage by the PC. 

Is that on the phone or laptop?

My apologies but don't have time at the mo to explain.

Here's a link that might help.

 http://www.digitalcitizen.life/how-use-resource-monitor-windows-7

Windows updates could certainly be an issue and the first thing I would check and turn off.

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If that is your primary means of connectivity, 25GB data is not really a lot in all fairness, mediocre at best. - Especially if you use the internet daily and even moreso if you stream online content. I use approximately 4-5GB a month just keeping my apps up to date on one phone and that's not including Windows updates for my laptop which add significantly to that. (some can be in excess of 3GB)  Having said that there are people who get by with much less but I'm certainly not one of them!

While turning off automatic updates will certainly conserve data, it's not advisable because apps are updated for several reasons and as an IT professional myself, I have seen serious consequences as a result of out of date software over the years. I could write an entire essay about the subject if I had to!

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20 minutes ago, Chewbacka said:

and it's a better password than the boat name, or Pa55word or some of the other most common passwords.

 

 

Also best not use WEP, it is well and truly hacked.

WPA2 is best and currently isn't compromised - yet. But don't  use a simple password.

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8 hours ago, Mikexx said:

 

Also best not use WEP, it is well and truly hacked.

WPA2 is best and currently isn't compromised - yet. But don't  use a simple password.

Best passwords now are said to be passphrases like puffineatingicecream, much more resistant to hacking apps.

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I have a 3 contract with dongle it has 5 gb on it, however every time I go to check data use, it just says their is a problem we know about it and are try to fix it! well lets hope they never do as I never run out of data and use it all the time:rolleyes:

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8 hours ago, BruceinSanity said:

Best passwords now are said to be passphrases like puffineatingicecream, much more resistant to hacking apps.

Don't fully agree with that

One of the most common hacking techniques is to use dictionary searches of linked whole words. 2 or 3 dictionary words linked isn't a major problem for a dictionary linked interrogation  programme. The normal starting points are names, dictionary words or geographical names then numbers then case. 

A better solution is  password generator and database of these I prefer the standalone type I. E require manual backup and export/import. More work to synchronise across appliances but much more secure than an Internet linked system. 

Edited by reg
Changed Best solution to Better solution.....
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1 hour ago, reg said:

Don't fully agree with that

One of the most common hacking techniques is to use dictionary searches of linked whole words. 2 or 3 dictionary words linked isn't a major problem for a dictionary linked interrogation  programme. The normal starting points are names, dictionary words or geographical names then numbers then case. 

A better solution is  password generator and database of these I prefer the standalone type I. E require manual backup and export/import. More work to synchronise across appliances but much more secure than an Internet linked system. 

I use Keepass is that any good.

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6 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

I use Keepass is that any good.

Don't know that one so can't comment on it although I may look into it based on Rusty69 recommendation. 

For Android I use PASSWORD SAFE, nice piece of work easy to use and standalone. 

The selling point for me is the fact that it does NOT have an inbuilt sync-feature. You have to export to a file and the transfer and import to your other device. This feature, or lack of a feature, removes a major potential weakness.

I personally like the developers refusal to bow to fashion at the cost of security. 

https://reneph.de/en/password-safe-2/

 

Edited by reg
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6 hours ago, reg said:

Don't know that one so can't comment on it although I may look into it based on Rusty69 recommendation.

I'm not recommending it, its just the one I use. I  keep the database on an sd card, and only use it on one device, with a backup of the file kept in truecrypt. 

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