Newbie has some concerns - input needed?

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Fulton17

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Hi,

Yesterday I was up and running with my 192K ADSL. A neat improvement over my 64K ISDN line, but...

With my ISDN line when connected a status window would come up and tell me bytes recieved and sent. The sent was always way lower.

With ADSL I can get a "local area connection status" window to come up which talks about packets sent and recieved. These normally seem to be pretty much the same.

One of my concerns is that with my ISDN if I was doing nothing then there was next to no change in bytes recieved and sent, yet when I am doing nothing on my ADSL my packets recieved and sent seems to just keep going, which seems wrong. I have read these horror stories of people stealing bandwith etc, and guess that is why I ask these questions. Do I need to be concerned? What is going on with the sent and recieved?

I do switch the router off when not using my computer.

The other question - is there some way of seeing the actual usage at any given time like I used to be able with ISDN?

Thanks so much and sorry to bug your pros with these basic questions, but you input would be appreciated.:)
 
Fulton,
Hi welcome to the forums.
Your best bet is to download netlimiter ( http://www.netlimiter.com/ ).
This app shows you in real time which process is using bandwidth, as well as giving running totals on amount used.

What you are seeing may well just be lan traffic between your PC and Router, but it may also be malware / trojan / virus activerty.

Until you have tracked it down it is probably better to only connect the router when you actually need the net, otherwise you may waste your cap.

Cheers Dave
 
1) Download antibody's extremely useful "Free SAIX ADSL Stats Analyser Utility" from http://antibody.za.net/extras/sasa.php. (See also the Sticky thread about this utility in this forum.) This will enable you to see how much internet usage (both download and upload) is actually being taken from your ISP account quota.

2) Make sure the firewall on your router is enabled and test its effectiveness using the "Shields UP" test by Gibson Research Corporation on http://www.grc.com/.

3) Change the "admin" password of your router to be something other than the default.

4) If your router has SNMP capability, then download the freeware "Interface Traffic Indicator" by CCSchmidt Software from http://software.ccschmidt.de/inftraf_detail.html. This will enable you to measure your actual incoming and outgoing ADSL traffic.
 
Thanks

Thanks so much for all your help. When I get home will download these programmes and get up and running. :)
 
Up and running

Just to say that I have download NetLimiter and it works great. Seems like there is only normal activity, so that is good.

Have also downloaded the package to monitor usage, but it only seems to have recorded usage up to this morning. I guess it updates every now and then.

I also tried the shields up, but it was too technical for me. Most things I tried seemed fine, and only failed one test but do not know how to rectify the problem. Thanks for the help and input - it really is great. :D
 
And in you've got "Auto Update" on - then machine checks first time online in the day for updates. Also virus checker downloads updates etc. At startup some traffic is normal - set your auto-updates to suit yourself... but constant traffic is definitely unnormal (get a bandwidth monitor as suggested.)

/I use Bandwidth Monitor http://www.batchsoftware.com/ really nice little tool - puts the classic dialup icon in the clock menu (what's that menu called anyway?) - and gives daily, monthly, total traffic etc. Simple tool./
 
Last edited:
Hi Fulton17. Yes, at the moment the usage for the current session is not available. If you really need to see what has happened since the last Telkom enforced reconnect (every 24 hours), you could always force a disconnect and reconnect again to open a new session.

GRC Shields UP!! - You need to run the "File Sharing" test, and it should tell you that your PC does not respond to either of the two tests. Then run the "Common Ports" test - All should be in "Stealth" mode. To be really thorough, run the "All Service Ports" test. Tell us which port (number and name) is open, and which make and model router you are using, and we may be able to help you close it.
 
Hi Fulton17, Telkom has updated the attributes ISP's can send via RADIUS, one of them is "Acct-Interim-Updates" with a minimum of 3600s (1 minute). Your ISP should be able to provide you with your hourly usage via there "Usage Monitor".
Telkom will also be providing ISP's with POD "Packet of Death" to enable them to stop your session. This will hopefully lead to the 24hour resets disspaearing as it will be possible to disconnect a user!
 
JAS said:
Hi Fulton17. Yes, at the moment the usage for the current session is not available. If you really need to see what has happened since the last Telkom enforced reconnect (every 24 hours), you could always force a disconnect and reconnect again to open a new session.

GRC Shields UP!! - You need to run the "File Sharing" test, and it should tell you that your PC does not respond to either of the two tests. Then run the "Common Ports" test - All should be in "Stealth" mode. To be really thorough, run the "All Service Ports" test. Tell us which port (number and name) is open, and which make and model router you are using, and we may be able to help you close it.
Click to expand...

JAS, thanks for the kind offer.

I have run all three tests and everything passed, so that was great.

I have installed netlimiter and it appears that there is no other activity taking place, so hopefully will have no problems.

Thanks to all for your help and input. Must say I am enjoying ADSL after 64K ISDN:D
 
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