Not everyone is lucky enough to have an internet connection with unlimited bandwidth. If your internet plan has restricted bandwidth limit per month and the ISP is charging you per MB of data exchanged after a certain threshold is exceeded, you should install a bandwidth monitoring software that will track your internet usage behind the scenes and inform you before you hit that monthly data download/upload limit.
Not just internet usage, these programs assist you diagnose slow internet connections and whether the ISP is giving your the promised speed or not. You also get an idea about what processes or software are currently downloading or uploading data to the internet.
One of our favorite bandwidth monitor software is Net Meter - it's absolutely free, requires no configuration and it's features match that of pro software like DUMeter or Bandwidth Monitor pro.
The data is displayed inside graphs and you get an accurate idea about the true data upload speed, download speed and since how long have you been online.
Net Meter has live reports about data transferred in a day, week or the whole month. This can also be exported in text file so that you can tally the report from your ISP.
If you are on dial-up connection, we also recommend RAS Monitor - a standalone program [no installation] that you can add to your Windows startup folder. It will reside in the Windows System tray and as soon as you switch on the modem or plug in the cable connection, RAS will begin tracking your data transfer usage.
So you can finally stop worrying about exceeding your monthly internet bandwidth or those unexpected and shocking internet usage bills that sometimes made no sense to you.
NetMeter, RAS Monitor, Download Net Meter
Reader Comments
I have been using Magitime on my dialup connection for the same purpose for quite a few years now. It also has a wealth of information, and some unusual add-ons including moon phases and world time. Shyam Bhagat, the developer, also brought out a special customizable World Cup edition this year with complete coverage of all the Matches and statistics of the Football World Cup. The only problem is with the help files which are somewhat incomprehensible, otherwise it is an excellent program. He has a version for broadband as well, which I'll be trying out when I (hopefully) get my broadband connection running next week. As a matter of fact, the ISP guys(MTNL) came on Wednesday and simply dumped the ADSL router at my place after their technical competence failed them when it came to installing the modem on my system. There's been no sign of them since:(
Written on 11/11/06 8:54 PM
Good find Cherian - It looks interesting especially with the moon phases and time zones.
Could you share the URL of the program.
Written on 11/11/06 11:03 PM
You can find it just by searching Google.
http://www.filedudes.com/Magitime-download-25549.html
Written on 12/11/06 4:41 AM
You can find it just by searching Google.
http://www.filedudes.com/Magitime-download-25549.html
Written on 12/11/06 5:07 AM
My bad, I'd copied the URL but forgot to paste it into my earlier comments. And when I said the help files were incomprehensible, I meant that in the context of the program being highly customizable (essential since dial-up connections come in a variety of shapes and sizes...half-rate after 11.00 pm etc.), so much so that one has to use a bit of intuition in addition to the help files:-)
The url is http://magistonesystems.com/index.htm
P.S. Amit, your link to my profile page on my office website send its hit-count soaring sky-high:-) Now if, only I'd started a blog, that would have made it one hell of a coming-out party. I'll make sure I get one going before the next Digital Inspiration Coffee Party:-)
Written on 12/11/06 12:26 PM
Just to update you: Installed Maginet, the version for broadband connections, and it's working fine, even though it's not as versatile as the dial-up version. Re. Netmeter, I went over to the Netmeter site with the intention of downloading the software, but beat a hasty retreat when the McAfee Siteadvisor glowed a bright orange, warning me that there was a 'generic trojan downloader' lurking on the site. Could have been a false alarm, but I didn't want to take a risk:)
Written on 15/11/06 2:34 PM