We have had HughesNet for several years. Nothing has changed with our computer settings. Everything updates in the middle of the night during free time. Our wifi has a 24 character password! Our neighbors all have DSL. Our allowance is being used up overnight while no one is using it. Went to bed with 32% and have Zero this morning.

Lea,With all the other hoops you are being asked to jump through it would be interesting to check when Windows Update has been checking for updates the next few days. Start, All Programs, Windows update will show you the last time windows checked by time and date. That doesn't mean it made the update at that time since it is on the BITS download system which only downloads when nothing else is going on, pauses if there is, and resumes the next time the pc is on. Defender, which should be off since you have McAfee, and a few other windows programs update the same way.What home page do you use in your browser?A few of the news channels you mentioned checking as well as the Hughes home page have way too many large changing pictures and little videos running on them these days for limited broadband.Even the home page of Microsoft Bing has far too many images. If you leave any of these open in a tab while looking at others or nothing there is a lot of usage. A search engine page that is very plain and mostly text is the way to go. They are getting hard to find as Google Search is adding more junk all the time. What email program do you use? Some of them check for new mail every 15 minutes but some almost instantly whenever they are open. Send yourself an email and see how long it takes to arrive back in your inbox with the program open.McAffee should have a History Log and/or a Performance graph that will show you everytime something tries to come through it. You will be amazed at the activity that goes on in the background.It should tell you each event and when it happened. If you have some of the common malware trying to gain access it may block it but there will be activity ( usage) every few seconds. Actor PID is a typical one. You can look it up on the web and see how much trouble it has been for many folks that are completely unaware it is trying to mess with their computer.We all think nothing has changed in the way we browse and use our computers but the sites we browse have become more and more cluttered every year and the size and frequency of updates to windows and other software we have installed has become ridiculous, at least in my opinion.Ron

I also wanted to mentioned that I can't agree that my data is refilling right. It did last night, but the night before the data gods blessed me with an extra 10%. Not complaining about that, but when the data gods giveth that means they can also taketh away.

Lea are you using Facebook? Their videos play all by themselves and use all sorts of data ... I know that won't make the math make sense but I had an issue with that .... there's a way to stop them from playing automatically now!

Hi Lea,Thank you for updating us so far. You mentioned that you unplugged the LAN cable with 22% of your data allowance left. So overnight your modem was left isolated until you plugged back in the morning and found the same amount, 22%. This tells us that no data was used and eliminates the modem as a source of unidentified data usage.I don't know why your data reset up to 82%, but look on the bright side, you were given more data than expected! As Staci mentioned, Facebook does have autoplaying videos in their timeline feature, which can use more data than you expect. In addition to that, keep in mind there are countless factors that can use your data:- more devices are capable of connecting to the internet: phones, tablets, gaming consoles, SmartTVs, and even refrigerators can connect wirelessly to the internet. Keep track of what devices you leave running on Wi-Fi.- automatic-updates: your computer and any other programs you use will often keep working in the background, even if you're not actively using that program, in order to keep your system/program up-to-date. Anti-virus programs will periodically use your internet connection to check back with their malware database for any updates. You should have an option to turn off auto-updates and/or schedule them for a later time.- multimedia content: Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, news sites, and other websites will contain videos, animated gifs, and sound clips that may start playing as soon as you land on the site. So much content, so easily available almost everywhere on the internet. For starters, try disabling auto-play video on Facebook:https://community.myhughesnet.com/hughesnet/topics/how_to_disable_autoplay_videos_on_facebookor adjusting your Netflix playback quality to SD:https://help.netflix.com/en/node/87To help you monitor your data usage and other performance metrics, we’ve gathered resources for you here, which also includes communityrecommendations: http://community.myhughesnet.com/hughesnet/topics/track_your_usage_performance_speeds_and_view_tips_....The most important tool to download is the Status Meter, available in the Customer Support Center, so download that if you haven’t already:supportcenter.myhughesnet.comAnother community member has also shared a list of things you might not have thought to check that uses data, so we highly suggest checking it out here: https://community.myhughesnet.com/hughesnet/topics/data-usage-sources-common-and-not-so-commonFeel free to let us know if you need additional assistance, we're happy to help.Thanks,Liz

Great that means that your data is refilling right. next let figure out whats causing the data usage, What brand and model router are you using and can you list all of the devices that you have connected to it either by wire or wireless

Usage depleted overnight. All updates set during free time.

Lea
New Member
11 years ago
No updates for me. I think he started and it failed a few days ago. He still has 7. I'll let him know that if he does get it that he needs to do it during free time or at work.
Lea
New Member
11 years ago
That still doesn't explain my meter starting at 81% at 7:00 am and dropping to 74% At 7:05 am just clicking on IE and then ESPN.
Lea
New Member
11 years ago
It just dropped from 60% to 58% by posting the two comments above. That is all I have done. Is that normal?
William Nason
New Member
11 years ago
Lea,
Did you just wake up the computer from sleep or hibernation when the meter showed 81%? If so please keep in mind that the meter "sleeps" or hibernates in its current state right along with the computer. Once brought out of sleep it will take some time to update itself (I think maybe 5 minutes?) so that it shows a current accurate % remaining.
William Nason
New Member
11 years ago
No - posting two comments definitely should NOT drop you 2% usage.
William Nason
New Member
11 years ago
I suspect either a program on your computer or some other device connected to your network is using data in the background to cause your data allowance to drop that quickly. I would still try connecting one computer directly to the modem and see if the problem continues while in that configuration.
William Nason
New Member
11 years ago
Just a thought - you mentioned that he attempted to update his phone to IOS-8 twice but failed. I am not familiar with Apple products but is it even possible that since the update process was initiated the phone KEEPS trying to download the update and failing thereby using up your data? Try turning off WiFi on the phone and see if the depletion stops.
Ron4
New Member
11 years ago
Lea,
You also said you have Windows 7 and have your updates set to go at 0300.
On some W-7 units, depending on the "Power Plan" chosen or set up by the OEM,
you can have your check for updates set to check at 0300 but it either does not wake up or checks but doesn't do the actual download until you physically wake up the computer in the morning.
You can click on the Start button and type "Power" in the search box. It will take you to the Power Plan settings, and you will find many different plans plus modifications to the plans.
Do you ever notice a little icon in the taskbar that says updating if you hover your mouse over it?
If you click Start/All Programs and scroll to the bottom you will see the symbol and can click on the Windows update button to manually check for updates, as well as see when the last update was checked/ downloaded.
Are you on a daily or monthly allotment?
How many MB does the 2% you mention amount too.
As William said, you are going to have to isolate to one device at a time for a period of time to determine that the problem is not on your end.
Ron
Lea
New Member
11 years ago
UGGH!!! I haven't been on complaining in awhile because everything went back to normal. 2 Iphones connected to wifi when home and our normal computer usage. Both phones left home this morning and all computers turned off. All updates stopped unless I check for them manually. My allowance refilled this morning. I came home and turned on my computer and my data was at 39%. Turned wifi off my phone and it was dropping while I was sitting at my desk doing nothing on the computer!!! Its went from 39 to 25%. I signed in to write this and have dropped to 20%!!!
CharlesMcCool
New Poster
11 years ago
WOW thats a lot of drain

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