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.

Ron4
New Member
11 years ago
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
Lea
New Member
11 years ago
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.
Staci WithAnI
New Member
11 years ago
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!
Liz
Moderator
11 years ago
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_facebook
or adjusting your Netflix playback quality to SD:
https://help.netflix.com/en/node/87

To help you monitor your data usage and other performance metrics, we’ve gathered resources for you here, which also includes community
recommendations: 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.com

Another 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-common

Feel free to let us know if you need additional assistance, we're happy to help.

Thanks,
Liz
CharlesMcCool
New Poster
11 years ago
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
Lea
New Member
11 years ago
I upgraded my firmware on my Netgear last night about 11:30, after I used a token. This morning I refilled to 99%.
Liz
Moderator
11 years ago
Hi Lea,

I just wanted to add that our remote diagnostics show the HughesNet equipment looks fine from our end. We're glad to see you working with Charles to try to figure out what is using your data. We'll check your usage data as well to see if there's anything insightful to share. In the meantime, as you troubleshoot, we'll add token data allowance to your account. Please keep us posted.

Thanks,
Liz
Ron4
New Member
11 years ago
Charles,
I've seen in the past where you have been helpful in explaining to folks with the HN9000 on checking if they had the correct version of the meter for their plan, if the software in their modem was the compatible version, if they were on the correct gateway, and if Hughes had set things on their end to make the meter operate correctly. Perhaps you could go through that with Lea to be sure everything is working together as it should?
Also note the properties on the image she posted. Could that cloud service have any bearing on the data being used up rapidly?
Ron
Liz
Moderator
11 years ago
Hi Lea,

Thank you for this screenshot. So between 4:50 am this morning until you said you "started a few minutes ago" around 11 am, no one was using the computer? We'd like to know what PC activity was taking place between the 4:50 am and 11:06 am screenshots. Was the PC on and still directly connected to the modem? Was a browser open? On what site was the browser left open?

We look forward to hearing back from you. Also, as a reminder, you still have the tokens we gave you before to help troubleshoot.

Thanks,
Liz
Liz
Moderator
11 years ago
Good morning Lea,

Thank you for reporting back, we appreciate it, this is very helpful. Since you mentioned Facebook, if you haven't already done so, turn off auto-play for the videos in your timeline: https://community.myhughesnet.com/hughesnet/topics/how_to_disable_autoplay_videos_on_facebook Auto-playing videos are also commonly found on news sites, which, unfortunately may not provide an option to turn this off, so be mindful of that.

However, as Charles suggested, using browser extensions can help prevent unwanted videos/images from loading. Even if auto-play isn't disabled, there's no considerable spike or large amount of usage for that hour. (Ideally, I want to have longer testing periods to have more accurate results, but I understand you have more important things to spend your time on than troubleshooting.)

The next step is to re-connect your router, but only have your computer connected to it. Please also turn off the wifi on any known wireless device you have that could connect to your network (iPhones, etc.). As Gwalk900 wonderfully explained above, adding a wireless network into the mix can greatly complicate troubleshooting, so we'll do our best.

The purpose of re-adding the router and only connecting the PC is to see if the router itself is having an effect on usage. If we see a considerable increase in usage in another test hour, we can investigate from there. Please also tell us your router model so we know what exactly we're working with, thanks.

As Charles also explained, HughesNet certainly works with routers, and we discuss routers in our FAQ here: http://www.hughesnet.com/index.cfm?page=FAQ

We also have a list of recommended routers: http://www.hughesnet.com/indexx.cfm?page=dspWirelessRouter

To recap: Disable auto-playing videos if you can. Try Charles' suggestion to use blocking extensions. Disable wifi on all your wifi devices. Reconnect your router and only the PC. Then take the before and after screenshots of the Status Meter for your test hour of usage. If you can do more than an hour, that would be better.

Thanks,
Liz