# data usage question



## cjean (May 1, 2007)

So, we have Exede, and on the day our data allowance reset, we somehow used up 98% of our 10 GB. I was chatting with a CS rep there, and she checked to see what was using it all. She said it was 97% used up by &quot;web browsing&quot;. The rest was media, system update, etc. How is this possible? I thought web browsing used the LEAST data...and we didn't even spend that much time on the internet that day. She said if we left a computer or phone on an open http or https site, it could use that much data. Is that true?


----------



## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

Just looking at the web in many cases does use a lot, because of sooooo many embedded videos that are spread throughout those web pages that are running automatically and continuously throughout the site you are visiting. Especially are Yahoo and MSN pages that have tons of videos playing all the time.


----------



## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

Believe me I understand, I buy metered cellular data. I am really careful about anything wasting it without giving me benefit.

Video as AK says, is usually biggest data eater. There are browser extensions to toggle it on and off.

Win10 with its forced updates can eat lot data when it pushes through a big one. If you use wifi connection to your router, you can set it to metered and supposedly win10 wont force updates over that connection. There are workarounds to make win10 offer such similarly "metered option" to other connections. Alternatively you can block connection to all Microsoft servers (LOT of them) manually or with such as Destroy Windows Spying. This using win10s own firewall.

Also suggest using either NO-SCRIPT or ghostery, adblocker plus, and self destructing cookie extentions. Everybody on the web seems to want to leech your system resources to track and collect data on you in order to sell it.

Also again if your router isnt protected, others maybe leeching service off your system. Set password. A serious password, not PASSWORD1.


----------



## cjean (May 1, 2007)

Our router is password protected, factory set, which is hard to guess. Plus, we are very rural, so no people hanging out on a sidewalk trying different combos... My husband left his phone on youtube autoplay for almost the whole afternoon yesterday, to see how much data it used. It was .32 GB, according to the meter this morning. So, even watching videos on purpose didn't use as much data as the "web browsing" that they claimed. I do have no-script on my laptop, and adblock. My dd has the windows 10 laptop, so I will also suggest to her the same. But we both keep them disconnected when not in use, which is only a couple hours per day, maybe. Besides, it wasn't a system update problem, so that lets out win 10...


----------



## Belfrybat (Feb 21, 2003)

Something similar happened to a friend who uses an AT&T hotspot. Her data spiked to 4 GB over a two day period. Turns out her hotspot unit had malfunctioned. She had to pay for a new one since it was out of warranty, but since then her data usage has been a little less than before. 

*HERMIT *-- I looked up the Destroy Windows Spying program and it only seem to be available through 3rd party software downloads. I no longer download anything from CNET thanks to their "giving" me the Conduit virus a couple of years ago, which I never completely gotten rid of. Which company do you think would be the safest if I wanted to download this program?


----------



## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

Belfry bat said:


> Something similar happened to a friend who uses an AT&T hotspot. Her data spiked to 4 GB over a two day period. Turns out her hotspot unit had malfunctioned. She had to pay for a new one since it was out of warranty, but since then her data usage has been a little less than before.
> 
> *HERMIT *-- I looked up the Destroy Windows Spying program and it only seem to be available through 3rd party software downloads. I no longer download anything from CNET thanks to their "giving" me the Conduit virus a couple of years ago, which I never completely gotten rid of. Which company do you think would be the safest if I wanted to download this program?


http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/destroy_windows_10_spying.html

Yea, authors webpage seems to have disappeared. Too bad as I am sure it will need to be updated as time goes on. But where there is a void, others will fill the need.

There are other scripts, all these basically do is use win10 own firewall to block outgoing traffic to known M$ servers. You can do it manually, but it would be a serious job. Here is another: http://win10-spystop.software.informer.com/ I have no idea how well it works, never used it. I will say Destroy Windows Spying could been designed with a easier to figure out interface, but it works. Sure if you read articles on win10 spying/telemetry, you will find others. I think back when I was looking I found several, DWS just seemed one of the more popular without needing to install it. You just run an exe file.


----------



## cjean (May 1, 2007)

Belfrybat said:


> Something similar happened to a friend who uses an AT&T hotspot. Her data spiked to 4 GB over a two day period. Turns out her hotspot unit had malfunctioned. She had to pay for a new one since it was out of warranty, but since then her data usage has been a little less than before.
> I wonder if something like this could happen with a router...do you know?


----------

