How do you stay under 5GB?

dozer11 · EVDO Newbie Joined: 28 Sep 2009 Posts: 4

I recently moved to a somewhat isolated area that does not have any cable or internet. I have a verizon home phone line, but they do not offer internet through that line as of yet (needs updated).

Anyways I did some research and decided to get a Sprint Aircard. I am pleased with the service for the most part. I wish it were a bit faster, but I think if I got an antenna it would be much faster. My issue comes down to the 5G cap. I was fully aware of it when I signed up, but from their documentation it seemed liked as long as you are not downlading songs, watching youtube vids, or playing games online 5GBs should be more than enough. Well 3 months later, we are averaging roughly 8-10GBs a month and paying ~$50 extra month. I specifically told my wife about not downloading vids or the different things that east up data. So we literally do not watch any vids, download any music, or play any games online. So how are we still going over?

We basically just surf the web a bunch. So would that be an issue? Is there anything to do to cut down on the bandwith sites use? Some of the ads I could easily do without seeing and then there are the ads that automatically start with sound, video, etc. We try to hit the stop button as fast as possible, but many websites have stuff like this these days.

im_electronic · Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2009 1:35 pm Post subject:

optimize your sstems witht he TCP window trick (search forums)
there is also software that will cut image resolution down,
also install adblocking to your web browser (adblock plus w/firefox)
switch to dyndns, you can also set it up to show what is being visited, as well as block content as well.

dozer11 · EVDO Newbie Joined: 28 Sep 2009 Posts: 4

vpnavy · EVDO Junkie Joined: 29 Jul 2005 Posts: 169

Something is wrong. The wife and I surf like crazy. We don't view Vid's or anything though... I have a number of websites and I'm constantly uploaded stuff and getting messages with a lot of graphics files but I have never got passed 5GB. I'm on Verizon.

Deb-in-MD · Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2009 5:07 pm Post subject:

Definitely something wrong, check your neighbors and see if they are using your bandwidth or something? Do you have this hooked to a router? I rarely go over 2GB and I am on several times a day with weather maps and eBay and stuff. I do block ads but still I think something is wrong.

I am with sprint

dozer11 · EVDO Newbie Joined: 28 Sep 2009 Posts: 4

I have it just hooked directly to my desktop (through the USB port) - I assume there is no way to steal bandwith that way.

waynefoutz · EVDO Junkie Joined: 31 Mar 2008 Posts: 297

SlyFerret · EVDO Heavy User Joined: 19 Mar 2007 Posts: 127

The drawback of EVDO is, you're not going to be able to watch Hulu (or other sites) that give you high quality full length TV shows and movies. You'll probably not be able to rent/buy movies from iTunes, as those activities would put you over the limit pretty easily. Also, do NOT allow your kids to install any P2P file sharing tools on their PC's, as that will chew through bandwidth like there's no tomorrow.

But... unless you download a ton of video podcasts, or your kids watch a BOATLOAD of youtube videos... you probably won't go over 5GB.

My wife and I use the internet a lot. We're constantly online. We don't pay much attention to our bandwidth because we're lucky enough to be grandfathered in on the old unlimited plan (been on VZW for over 3 years now).

Truth be told, we generally use between 3.5GB and 4GB per month. I think I've only ever gone over 5GB in a single month a couple of times in over 3 years.

I download about a dozen audio podcasts every week. My wife likes to watch music videos on YouTube. We make skype calls, and we surf constantly.

5GB doesn't sound like much, but it reality, it's quite a bit of data.

If you're using 8-10 GB... the first thing I'd look for is P2P file sharing software. Find out if the kids are downloading movies. Most of the ones that the kids are torrenting (MPEG4 or DIVX) these days are about half a gig each.

-SF

onedavester · Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2009 9:50 am Post subject:

I have no problems with using as much data on the Sprint network as I want and no contract either. PM me if interested how. This is completely legit too.

dozer11 · EVDO Newbie Joined: 28 Sep 2009 Posts: 4

I installed an adblocker and switched to Firefox from IE. So far it seems like it is using less bandwidth, but I will know for sure when I get home from work. My wife likes to do a bunch of web surfing. Smile

I run malware and spyware programs and I rarely ever find anything. I will try to download different ones and try them to see if it picks anything else up.

Does Vista use up more bandwidth?

vpnavy · EVDO Junkie Joined: 29 Jul 2005 Posts: 169

FYI - I'm running FireFox (3.5.3), ZoneAlarm Pro, AVG and SpySweeper.

im_electronic · Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2009 2:00 pm Post subject:

waynefoutz · EVDO Junkie Joined: 31 Mar 2008 Posts: 297

come_marching_home · EVDO Newbie Joined: 04 Oct 2009 Posts: 1

n0k3p · EVDO Newbie Joined: 13 Jan 2007 Posts: 5

pm me pls as well Rolling Eyes