Controlling Data Usage
Asking for any input or suggestions. We have just disconnected our DirecTV service (price was just too high), and are now going with an antenna and downloading ahead of time and limited streaming. Have found some sites that let you NOT watch HD (Hulu, Klowd, and Sling) - but having a tough time not going over our limit for the month. This is our first month doing so - so hoping it will get better.
Will just turning off the modem when we go to bed or are going out of town for the day help any? Not sure about how data gets used without me knowing about it - any advice on that for a somewhat tech-savvy person here. We use Nightshift to record Netflix in our bonus time, and also playon.tv for lots of other shows - but does anyone have any more suggestions?
Thanks in advance!!
Trish
The two linked posts are quite the read, that's for sure, and they have a lot of great info.
I'm not really sure about your ASUS router, as I'm not familiar with them, though there are a lot of people on here that are. There may very well be a section in its settings which shows data usage, though how it's broken down, as in month, week, day, hour or even minutes, I don't know. And with Nightshift, I have absolutely no clue. I've seen it talked about before and a few people use it and love it, but I know practically nothing about it, or at least nothing that would help with monitoring data usage.
With regard to the Glasswire, though you mentioned that you're going to try to install it, I would install it on each of your Windows based computers. It only monitors the data of the Windows based computer it's installed on, which is why I suggest installing it on all of them.
Also, as referenced in the pictures in the post, please make sure to set the options on the Usage tab to "Incoming & Outgoing" and "External" (I'll post updated pictures below). This way, Glasswire is monitoring both the upload and download, and is only monitoring the data being used via the internet. And, though it can look a bit daunting, once you get used to Glasswire it's pretty easy to decipher and is just about the best tool there is for data monitoring on Windows computers. And, of course, please feel free to ask any questions you have about how to use Glasswire and how to read it, or anything else, really. We all used Glasswire for a first time and all had to learn it, and aksing those who already know is the best way to do so. Always remember, the only stupid question is the one you don't ask.
Again, because Glasswire has been updated since that info was originally written and posted, here's how to set the options...
After Glasswire has been installed, click on its icon in the taskbar to open it (if it's not already open). Click on the Usage tab at the top, then click on All on the left. It doesn't really matter if the option on the right is on Month, Week, Day or Custom, at this point, as the options setting will change for all of them. So, you can leave it on whatever it's on, or put it on Day, like shown in the picture. Again, for setting the options it doesn't matter. Next, click on All on the left. Then, click on the drop down menu icon in the red box that is to the upper right of the circle graph. When the drop down menu is shown, select the two options shown, which are "Incoming & Outgoing" and "External".
Again, this will make it so, when you look at your usage, you're only looking at the data being used by the internet and not data being transferred back and forth inside the computer. It'll also show both download and upload (incoming and outgoing, respectively) data.
After a short time you'll start seeing data info showing. All shows everything in a quick look way. Apps shows everything broken down by the app that used it. Traffic shows the type of traffic, but to be honest, I never bother to look at that. It could come in handy if you're having some type of odd data usage in your computer that's hard to figure out, but for the most part you won't need to bother with it, either. All and Apps are the two that you'll look at most.
Glasswire is great as it shows every bit of data being used by the computer and just what's using it. You'll be able to see how much data every program and process uses. Like if you want to see how much data your antivirus program used from 2pm to 4pm on July 24th, you'll be able to see exactly that. And, you'll be able to see how much total data was used from 2pm to 4pm on July 24th, and exactly what used it, as in all the programs and processes that used data during that time, and how much data each program and process used. And, you'll be able to look and see just how much data was used while you weren't there, and what used it (if the comptuer was on). It's a fantastic tool to have. The date and times I was giving were just arbitrary, by the way, but I was using them as an example of what this program can show you.
It'll take a little while to learn how to read what Glasswire shows you, but again, please feel free to ask any questions you have about it and for any help that you need.
