Just got iBurst - sends data all the time!?

T

Tobold

Member
Joined
Aug 3, 2007
Messages
14
Reaction score
0
Hi there,

First off, please forgive me if this has been discussed before. I read the newbie stickies, but didn't find what I was looking for. I am also a little rattled by my frustration with iBurst, which doesn't help my cognitive capabilities.

I just got iBurst today, and just as quickly send an email to cancel it. I was on Vodacom 3G, reached the end of my contract, and thought iBurst might be a better deal.

Anyway, I paid up front for the modem and collected it in Sandton before heading home to Sunninghill. I found that the modem sends data like crazy the moment I connect up. It keeps this up until I disconnect. I don't even need to open the browser, it just starts sending the second I connect. No doubt, I should have considered installing software to inform me as to what was going on, but I realised I didn't care - my 3G doesn't do that at all.

By the time I disconnected for the first time, after just a bit of forum surfing and posting, I had 10MB received, and 50MB sent! Now, I figure this could be related to poor signal, but the signal seemed fine - showing 90%-100% all the time, and calling it "Excellent". If I let it keep on like that, it would take 3GB from iBurst to give me the same web time as a 500MB package on 3G. It just burns up my quota without me even being involved. A quick bathroom break, even if I run, costs me 2 to 4MB!

Sorry for the rant, and any technical inaccuracies, but the bottom line is that iBurst has really put me off. Worse, I was lulled into it by my 3G contract being 2 years old, making the R350 per month for 500MB look bad. I see I now get 1GB on 3G for the same amount, on contract, with a USB modem included.

I will be off to my local VodaShop tomorrow to get a new 1GB 3G contract, and chalk this up as a lesson learned. If anyone knows why the modem sends data furiously like that the moment I connect up (and keeps doing so until I disconnect), I would be very grateful if you would answer this post. It seems like rogue software is involved, doesn't it? Only, if it is, it doesn't do it with my 3G card. That is enough for me to give up on iBurst.
 
Code: 
A quick bathroom break, even if I run, costs me 2 to 4MB!

This made me laugh :D

Sorry I can't help
 
I got the same problem my uploads is even more than by downloads. Helpdesk have no clue what it is. THE CAP MUST BE DEPLETED ONEWAY OR THE OTHER.
 
Install netlimiter and check it out, I'd say it's worth doing even if you don't keep iBurst, something must be sending out data, it isn't normal for iBurst to do this afaik.
 
Tobold, Try what EHV suggested and hopefully you find the problem....

Just a pity you never saw or read a lot of the posts in this forum because if you had you would not even have considered getting iburst in the first place.
 
Thanks for all the replies! You guys are very friendly! :)

milomak, I'm glad that was amusing. I tried to inject some humour to keep me from whining too much (I hope it worked).

croman, I share your sentiment. This is a company that has annoyed me from the start (and I only paid for my modem 3 days ago). To make it worse, when I phoned them today asking where my modem was, they read the delivery address I specified back to me over the phone and promised it would arrive today. Then, they called me back and had the nerve to tell me that I had selected "I will collect" on the web application and not "delivery". Then why did they have the delivery address I specified, I wonder? I am far too anal, and did screen dumps after filling out the fields. I most definitely selected "delivery". It was a cheap ploy to explain why the modem would now only be delivered on Monday.

Ekhaatvensters, I will do that. Thank you for the advice. I should have done that earlier, but was too wound up. I might need hard drugs before too long. ;)

MrH, likewise. I appreciate your advice. Yes, I should have researched it a little more. I have a work colleague who has had no hassles with iBurst (technically, that is - he concedes that the service is less than desirable) and went largely on the strength of his experience. I am too impulsive for my own good.

Guys, thanks again for your responses. Sometimes, it feels better just to be able to discuss it. This is one of those times. Nobody really likes to hear about someone else's problem, so I appreciate your indulgence, and advice.

Say, you guys have been so good in this regard, you wouldn't happen to know how to stop the post office from stealing all my eBay goodies, would you? ;)
 
Tobold said:
MrH, likewise. I appreciate your advice. Yes, I should have researched it a little more. I have a work colleague who has had no hassles with iBurst (technically, that is - he concedes that the service is less than desirable) and went largely on the strength of his experience. I am too impulsive for my own good.
Click to expand...

I also did not have problems on the technical side, in fact I had one of the better connections of the members of this forum which almost always peaked at full speed without an antenna........................my problem is with the company thats running it (or is it ruining it).:eek: The stress of dealing with them was simply not worth the effort anymore and I made 100% sure of what I owed them, even got confirmation on the amount and even though I did not agree with what they came up with I decided to just pay to be rid of them.
What bothers me is I am still receiving email bandwidth reports which can only mean my user name is still active and even though my modem is not connected they will probably try to charge me for this month as well.
Tomorrow I am taking my modem to my bank for safe keeping, that will also serve as proof that I have not been using their system.

I assume they locked you into a debit order payment, if so just make 100% sure that you keep record as to the payments and if they miss one then force them to take it or you'll end up as many other xbursters who are been forced into another month unless their account is settled, even then some have had more demands for money.
 
If you dont have a firewall installed and have a computer with spyware/malware then that will consuming bandwidth
 
I'll keep an eye on them, MrH.
I installed NetLimiter, but it strangely doesn't show much activity, yet the iBurst_Terminal window shows a whole heap of activity - 5MB in a couple of minutes. It seems the behaviour also affects NetLimiter, in that it locks up, taking ages to display again if minimized or moved (displays a white form for some time). Clearly, something is not well.

Hey, don't feel bad dracolusus! I am a programmer, and have been since 1990. I have a BSc in Computer Science, MCSD, MCSE, Lotus CLP, a whole host of relevant accreditations collected over the years. The thing is, we get old, and the field grows larger every day. One cannot stay on top of it all. Furthermore, working at larger corporations, there are dedicated personnel for these issues. If I was 10 years younger, I probably would have made it my priority to know everything about the issues here. I no longer have the energy to get into the specifics of things like this. I have enough on my plate as it is. I just want them to work so that I can get on with my coding! :)
 
Last edited:
Tobold, it does seem like you might have spyware/malware on your PC as suggested, and the fact that Netlimiter is "locking up".

As EHV said, what you are experiencing is not normal for iburst and it's the first time that anyone posted about such a problem.

I suggest you take a good look at what you have running on your PC and do a virus scan etc.
I take it you have a firewall running, if so you should be able to see what going on from the logs.
 
Some more suggestions... FIND VIRUS

You might want to try these, but scan with Windows Live (preferably) or with Symantec first…

Windows Live PC Health & Safety Test (Takes longer & has better detection rates, is also more comprehensive)

OR

Symantec Virus Scanning

AND

Symantec System Vulnerability Test

AND THEN

Shields UP (Click on proceed, then on scan all ports / file sharing)

THEN PROTECT WITH

Zone Alarm Firewall Protection 39.60MB (Choose - I only want basic protection. This product is good but the initial set-up can be annoying. Once installed scan again with ShieldsUp)

AND

Clam Win Free Anti-Virus 16.12MB (This link will download the executable file - it's safe. This is Open Source Software - for now at least)

OR

Avira Antivir Personal Edition 16.38MB (This link will download the executable file - it's safe. This application integrates with WinXP's Security Centre, so you won't receive unnecessary security notifications)

Both the above mentioned antivirus packages don’t consume huge amounts of system resources like most other antivirus applications. As for how good they are or any other antivirus package for that matter – is up for debate. Once an antivirus packages detects a virus it’s generally too late the damage is done, most only prevent the further spreading of the virus.

I would suggest copying your data to a portable hard drive and scan it for viruses, download Jelly Bean and record your Win OS and Office apps. keys and format your hard drive.

Best to search the internet for reputable comparisons that have been made, preferably by organisations instead of online stores or other commercial entities as they generally have very specific reasons to rate the antivirus packages as they do…


Hope it helps.

Regards

Michael
 
Last edited:
@dracolusus, yeah. That seems ok.
Each time you load a page/download you have to upload as your connection has to tell the server what it must send you otherwise it wont know what to send you.etc

@Tobold, id say you definatly have a virus or some spyware.
Id suggest get Zonealarm pro as your firewall (its free IIRC).
Then get either Kaspersky or Avast as your anti virus.

Then if you need an anti spyware id say Webroot spysweeper.

I would NEVER use any Symantec internet protection. But that could be personal preferance. :)
 
My wife use Windoze and had MAcfee :mad: installed without firewall - her machine started reporting a lot of traffic being uploaded and when I did a netstat -aon realised that couple of her ports were being used to upload.

That stopped when I installed Zone Alarm :D

ATM the machine doenst have anti-spyware program installed but Netlimeter seam to be corresponding with what she is using.
 
PsyCLown said:
I would NEVER use any Symantec internet protection. But that could be personal preferance. :)
Click to expand...

HI PsyCLown

I would agree if you are referring to the pre-installed subscription (virus & spyware) packages (Norton) that are generally supplied with notebook's or sold at Incredible Connection. The Corporate Edition's seem to be better though (better detection rates, uses less resources and have less add-ons).

Some other sites that could be worth a visit;

http://www.microsoft.com/uk/smallbu...crosoft-security-guidance-centre/default.mspx

http://www.iwf.org.uk/public/page.28.34.htm

http://stopbadware.org/home/security

http://www.spywarewarrior.com/uiuc/resource.htm

Regards
 
Last edited:
i have this same problem but only if i use internet sharing over a network. i get capped within a day even though no one is using the connection. my download speed is at a constant 1500kb/s and uploads at 700kb/s. if im capped it still does the same thing, acording to iburst i downloaded 4GB over a 2 day period whilst capped.
 
IMO install a decent firewall first, then run locally installed anti-malware s/w scans, then setup a Limited Use Windoze user account, and use that LU account on a daily basis instead of a user account that has administrative privileges.

BTW, there is an important difference between Vodacom and iBurst, by default Vodacom blocks all unsolicited incoming connections into its network, so most external hacking attempts would be blocked, whereas [AFAIK] iBurst doesn't offer this sort of net-nappy to its customers. Quite likely that within minutes of connecting up via iBurst, the PC was infected by malware.

PS: Tobold, welcome to MyBroadband :).
 
@ToBold

Does your machine BSOD (blue screen error page) on shutdown?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X