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Thread ID: 113537 2010-10-24 20:38:00 Limiting data usage pcuser42 (130) Press F1
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1147409 2010-10-24 20:38:00 Having just gone over our cap again (with still two weeks to go), we now need something to restrict daily data usage on my computer and my brother's computer. Anyone know of any programs (preferably free) that can do this? pcuser42 (130)
1147410 2010-10-24 21:04:00 Also forgot to mention that my brother's PC has a dual boot, so something that could add up the usage from both XP and Vista would be nice, but not essential. pcuser42 (130)
1147411 2010-10-24 21:12:00 who's your ISP? GameJunkie (72)
1147412 2010-10-24 21:20:00 Vodafone. :) pcuser42 (130)
1147413 2010-10-24 21:21:00 do they not have a monitoring tool on the site??


webguage can do what you want but not free
http://www.webgauge.co.nz/
GameJunkie (72)
1147414 2010-10-24 21:39:00 Can you not set daily limits in the router? gary67 (56)
1147415 2010-10-24 22:04:00 Can you not set daily limits in the router?

The router only allows for restricting times, not data usage. :(
pcuser42 (130)
1147416 2010-10-24 22:58:00 The Webgauge needs a special router, which is probably something normal households wouldn't usually consider (unless the problem is quite severe, like a $1000 bill :().

But I hear that you can set up a "proxy server" that filters out the connections. Not sure how that works, though.
LynX (14542)
1147417 2010-10-24 23:12:00 Proxy Servers are usually more difficult to setup to do this than it would be to buy a specific kind of router and set it up with custom firmware. Also, WebGauge comes with the router.

You can try a Linksys WRT54GL which will set you back around $90, install the Gargoyle Firmware. It gives you lots of options when it comes to traffic management, such as:
- Per device data allowances
- Throttle or kill all internet traffic upon reaching the limit
- Varying quotas for each device
- The ability to have them tick over daily / weekly / monthly etc
- Up-to-the-minute overview of every devices usage for the quota period

That's why you should get Gargoyle firmware, it's OS independent (You and I both know how easy it is to remove a program or to boot a Live LinuxCD), and is very flexible ... Not to mention it's *dead* easy to setup!
Chilling_Silence (9)
1147418 2010-10-25 01:10:00 if you are trying to voluntarily restrict your own data, you could try networx. But that relies on you having it run when windows starts up.

Otherwise do what chilling said: get a cheap router off trademe that supports 3rd party firmware. I got a one which does that for $30 off trademe. Means you don't need to install anything on any PC or ipod touch or anything that could ever use the internet.
utopian201 (6245)
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