Wifi monthly usage already 15gb over for the month! So....wifi restriction software?

Donnie

Donnie

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So, our package is 40gb a month and we are already up to 55+ gb and it's only the 8th of January!

We (wife and I) arent using more than normal, I know for a fact, yes she now has her ipad but uses it instead of her wifi kobo and her netbook and doesn't do anything different on it.

In fact, therein (conversely) is, I suspect, the problem because for Christmas my 13 year old son now has the kobo and the 15 year old daughter has the old laptop!

I'm sure that this will be the reason especially as Charlies continually being told NOT to go on effing you tube or play minecraft or whatever its called.

So, Im wondering if anyone has some suggestions on what I can do to limit their usage?

I've already changed the wifi network password and my initial plan is simply to change this daily and not let them have it unless their work etcs done each day, then as soon as I've decided they've had enough simply change it again.

However, Im wondering if there's some sort of software that would make life a little easier on this, I've looked at something called k9 web protection but you need to install it on each machine, I'm looking for something I can install on the mac to manage it all globally if that makes sense?

So any thoughts welcome before I tear my hair out!
 
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That sounds extremely high for eight days! Are you sure your connection is secure and no one else is tapping in for free?

Can't help with software but most routers have a internal clock which limits access to the hours you set. You can also restrict any machine from access via the MAC address limiter in the router. This can stop them using the www in bed when they should be sleeping etc.
 
No particularly easy way of doing this with a basic home router without software on each machine. What router do you have?
40GB is a very small amount of data today though, I could get through that in a day. Maybe you could consider upgrading and taking some of their pocket money (if they get any) to pay for it? If you let us know what package you are on, we could possibly recommend something for a similar price with more data.
 
Its on BT broadband option 2 and while 40gb may not be a lot these days our average for over 12 months has been 24/25gb which is plenty for us :-/

been looking at the mac address options on the router which is a linksys wag54gs but cant find an easy way to allow 24/7 access to a Macbookpro, 2 iphones, an ipad and 1 laptop, while restricting the kobo and the other laptop/netbook.
 
The password solution would be my choice, would stop (or slow down) any piggybackers too. I would also install usage monitors to see who's using all the GB.
 
do you children have their own sub accounts on BT? if so you can parental control them i used to do it with mine. leaving your things alone.
 
Nod said:
The password solution would be my choice, would stop (or slow down) any piggybackers too. I would also install usage monitors to see who's using all the GB.
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didnt think about usage monitoring each machine, another google coming up :)

gumbo-67 said:
do you children have their own sub accounts on BT? if so you can parental control them i used to do it with mine. leaving your things alone.
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they don't no, they simply wifi through the router itself.
 
40GB in eight days? The only thing that will do that is streaming HD video, or running P2P software like Bittorrent.

Changing to a MAC address whitelist will stop all but the most determined piggybacker.
 
So, if you are on option 2, that's £18pm plus £10.75pm line rental, with evening and weekend calls? So £28.75 total? Over 12 months that would cost you £345.

You could get Sky unlimited broadband for £10pm (free for 6 months) + £14.50 line rental with weekend calls. That's £24.50pm total. Plus you can get £80.80 cashback through topcashback and a £25 M&S voucher. Over the first 12 months, that would cost you £153.20 + you'll get a £25 M&S voucher.

Worth considering.
 
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I'd definitely be increasing security. If there is a sudden usage spike then it does point to either kids doing something (they always lie and say they're not doing anything different) or a wifi sneak.

Ideally you want to monitor each machine's usage to find out who the hog is. If it's you then you'll need humble pie ;)

10GB a day isn't that much between 4 people.

I think you need to change the package to a higher one too.
 
gumbo-67 said:
may you could think about setting them up sub accounts that you can control. or try this

http://www.productsandservices.bt.c...yTopic.do?topicId=32101&s_cid=con_FURL_safety
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I don't get the sub accounts angle and how this will stop them / restrick tehm from using the wifi?

as for the bt familiy protection etc, it's a joke as I've just spent the last 30 odd minutes downloading it and trying to set it up etc. You basically download to one computer but then have to add each other person to it so they then have to login to it to work within the system but it's very fiddly and unsophisticated so seems to block a lot of stuff I don't want blocked :-( even this forums blocked on a pretty low setting :-(
 
joesmith said:
So, if you are on option 2, that's £18pm plus £10.75pm line rental, with evening and weekend calls? So £28.75 total? Over 12 months that would cost you £345.

You could get Sky unlimited broadband for £10pm (free for 6 months) + £14.50 line rental with weekend calls. That's £24.50pm total. Plus you can get £80.80 cashback through topcashback and a £25 M&S voucher. Over the first 12 months, that would cost you £153.20 + you'll get a £25 M&S voucher.

Worth considering.
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Definitely, 'er indoors is off tomorrow so I think we'll be sitting down and looking seriously at this.
 
srichards said:
I'd definitely be increasing security. If there is a sudden usage spike then it does point to either kids doing something (they always lie and say they're not doing anything different) or a wifi sneak.
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knowing my kids im 99.99% sure it's them :bang:

Ideally you want to monitor each machine's usage to find out who the hog is. If it's you then you'll need humble pie ;)
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Won't be me, I know I'm not using it more than usual, if anything Im using it less.

10GB a day isn't that much between 4 people.

I think you need to change the package to a higher one too.
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10gb a day is loads for us, as said previously, our average per MONTH was only about 24gb for the whole month.

I'll be looking at the package though as per a previous post, however, that doesn't mean I don't still want to monitor it all somehow and make sure the kids aren't up to something they shouldn't be.
 
Donnie said:
I don't get the sub accounts angle and how this will stop them / restrick tehm from using the wifi?

as for the bt familiy protection etc, it's a joke as I've just spent the last 30 odd minutes downloading it and trying to set it up etc. You basically download to one computer but then have to add each other person to it so they then have to login to it to work within the system but it's very fiddly and unsophisticated so seems to block a lot of stuff I don't want blocked :-( even this forums blocked on a pretty low setting :-(
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having just had another look i think they have changed it. but what i did when i had BT was make an account for each person in the house and on each account set the controls i wanted.

https://bt.edit.client.yahoo.com/product_detail?p_spaceid=1175050028

not sure if it will be any good for you.
 
I use Windows Live Family Safety to limit the hours our son can use our internet.

You can set up different access for individual account holders and they can only access websites you have approved.

This means everything unless you approve it first!!, this can get a bit annoying but at least I know he's not off looking at You Tube when I left him on Cbeebies!!

David
 
joesmith said:
So, if you are on option 2, that's £18pm plus £10.75pm line rental, with evening and weekend calls? So £28.75 total? Over 12 months that would cost you £345.

You could get Sky unlimited broadband for £10pm (free for 6 months) + £14.50 line rental with weekend calls. That's £24.50pm total. Plus you can get £80.80 cashback through topcashback and a £25 M&S voucher. Over the first 12 months, that would cost you £153.20 + you'll get a £25 M&S voucher.

Worth considering.
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I've been on Sky Broadband Unlimited since it was first launched. I have Sky line rental and Sky Talk and the broadband element is costing me only £7.50 per month.

Also, while it appears not to be well advertised, you can pay a year of line rental up front and get a discount as a result. I phoned up to ask about it and did the deal there and then over the phone. I snuck my deal in just before the most recent round of price increases and paid £119.40 for a year of line rental. So that's genuinely unlimited broadband, including line rental, for £17.50 per month. Add in some nice cash back offers and other discounts for new customers and it can only get better. (y)
 
Just an idea on usage ..... Is it anything to do with Sky Demand ? Do the kids now have Sky Go on their devices / BBc iplayer ?? etc....
As Said above... HD films/prgrams on demand will eat into it very fast :D
 
thanks all, well, we're almost certainly going to switch to sky tomorrow as it's too good an offer.

the windows live family safety thing may be worth looking at as I only have to put that on one netbook/laptop which I will set up an account for each kid. I've completely disabled the wifi access for the kobo as thats for charlie and its on android anyway so the windows live wouldn't work on that anyway.

This way I'll be able to see what they are up to and if Charlie can be sensible and earn it back (which I know already he won't) then he can have it back.

As for torrents , it's not I already know it's charlie being a prat and watching youtube stuff.
 
Last year we bought my dad a laptop for Xmas. He's 72 years old and never used a computer before. 10gb a month should be enough, right? Yeah, it would have been until my teenage nephew stayed over and ate 5gb in one day. I had a word with my nephew about curbing his usage but he was still doing things like using YouTube to *listen* to music - he had it open in the background while he chatted to his mates. Doh.

Anyway, dad got on fine with basic surfing and we set him up with Facebook so he could see photos of the grandkids until a friend introduced him to YouTube and then I had to bump him up to the 60gb package.

That worked out fine until another friend recommended a device called the TvPad... Basically a device which allows him to stream Asian Tv to his television. In his first month with his new toy he went through 60gb in less than 3 weeks.

Now switched to an unlimited O2 package....

Moral of this story is when it comes to teenagers and pensioners, you can never have enough!
 
Donnie said:
thanks all, well, we're almost certainly going to switch to sky tomorrow as it's too good an offer. stuff.
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If you've been with BT for a while, contact them and see what they'll offer you to stay with them - explain what you're after and what deal Sky are doing ...

Don't forget to have a look on BT's web as they also list offers on there ...

I'd phone the sales team directly
 
I'd be surprised if its just YouTube draining your bandwidth.

I have 100gb limit. I run a web based business from home so am online 24/7 and actively working online from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The wife is always on the ipad and my son is constantly streaming from YouTube and Netflix and chatting to friends on Skype. The most we've ever used in a month is around 60gb.

I would setup a MAC address whitelist to rule out piggy backers.
 
keifster said:
Moral of this story is when it comes to teenagers and pensioners, you can never have enough!
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I'm fairly sure you meant you can never have enough bandwidth... cos you can centainly have too much of the others.....:D
 
Have to say that changing the password only works for as long as the kids don't figure out that they can do a manual reset of the router!
 
neil_g said:
it can never hurt to have unlimited internet, not these days where media is only getting fatter with more pixels and bits of sound.
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yup, it's given me a bit of kick I guess as Im looking at hooking the telly up to make use of it's internet ability too I have to admit.

andyred said:
If you've been with BT for a while, contact them and see what they'll offer you to stay with them - explain what you're after and what deal Sky are doing ...

Don't forget to have a look on BT's web as they also list offers on there ...

I'd phone the sales team directly
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Been there and done that a few times over the last 4 years and they never give us more than a few quid off and it's still dearer :bang:

ecoleman said:
I'd be surprised if its just YouTube draining your bandwidth.

I have 100gb limit. I run a web based business from home so am online 24/7 and actively working online from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The wife is always on the ipad and my son is constantly streaming from YouTube and Netflix and chatting to friends on Skype. The most we've ever used in a month is around 60gb.

I would setup a MAC address whitelist to rule out piggy backers.
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I'll look into a whitelist but after chatting to bt today to narrow down the days and times I've definitely narrowed it down to my son :-/

Diving Pete said:
I'm fairly sure you meant you can never have enough bandwidth... cos you can centainly have too much of the others.....:D
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Ain't that the truth :D
 
Go to page 17 of your router manual, there is a section on access restrictions and "Internet policies".

You will be able to setup a usage policy of days and time you allow your son Internet access from a specific device. You can also apply this to certain types of traffic or websites if you need to.

Should be straight forward :)
 
I don't have a router manual, the routers over 5 years old and god knows where the manual is :)

On saying that I've sussed how I can do that anyway but it's simply easier to deny him access completely as he'll simply find a way round it and cock up somewhere else down the line :-(

He simply doesn't listen and no punishment works.
 
Donnie said:
I don't have a router manual, the routers over 5 years old and god knows where the manual is :)

On saying that I've sussed how I can do that anyway but it's simply easier to deny him access completely as he'll simply find a way round it and cock up somewhere else down the line :-(

He simply doesn't listen and no punishment works.
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A quick google will find you the manual, but doing this on the router and changing the default passwords to something a bit random should be the securest way....putting something on his computer he is more likely to find a way around it I would have thought

You could always block him altogether and get a mifi off fleabay, get him cheap 3gb SIM card to start and tell him when he runs out he has to buy his own SIM!
 
Donnie said:
knowing my kids im 99.99% sure it's them :bang:
.
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tell the little blighters that the devices are going in the loft for a month , and that after that they will moderate their net usage or lose them permanently, you're the parent so you make the rules

simples
 
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big soft moose said:
tell the little blighters that the devices are going in the loft for a month , and that after that they will moderate their net usage or lose them permanently, you're the parent so you make the rules

simples
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This!

If they won't do as they're asked they can either a) not have Internet access at all or b) they pay for a higher package out of their own pocket money.

Same used to happen when kids ran up large phone bills. They got to pay or not use the phone at all after being warned.
 
siblingchris said:
A quick google will find you the manual, but doing this on the router and changing the default passwords to something a bit random should be the securest way....putting something on his computer he is more likely to find a way around it I would have thought

You could always block him altogether and get a mifi off fleabay, get him cheap 3gb SIM card to start and tell him when he runs out he has to buy his own SIM!
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Aye, I've blocked him completely which is the simplest way, as for the mifi idea, well, lets say that we don't even trust him to have a mobile that has a contract, we have to have a pay and go one as he can't be trusted :-/

big soft moose said:
tell the little blighters that the devices are going in the loft for a month , and that after that they will moderate their net usage or lose them permanently, you're the parent so you make the rules

simples
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Oh I agree completely, Im the disciplinarian and they know it, however, while my daughter usually listens, Charlie just wont, he literally just doesn't care. To give you an example, he had his PS2 and access to the Wii removed about 6 months ago, and after about a day, he just forgets and doesn't care about them anymore :-/

srichards said:
This!

If they won't do as they're asked they can either a) not have Internet access at all or b) they pay for a higher package out of their own pocket money.

Same used to happen when kids ran up large phone bills. They got to pay or not use the phone at all after being warned.
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Yup, I don't even give them pocket money, the mrs does and while she appreciates my discipline of the kids, she's soft and gives in :-/

Thankfully she has no idea when it comes to technology so I can change the passwords etc and do what I like there as she wont have a clue.
 
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