Thread: Throttling ADSL (or the kids- I havent Decided)

woodcutta - who is your ISP?

What brand and model of router or modem do you have?

Also - do you happen to run Firefox? It has a plug-in that allows you to monitor usage. It is only by whole account though, not by individual PC.

Hi Groggy

The ISP is AAPT.
Modem is a D-Link DSL-302G which is connected to a Belkin Wireless G router which in turn has a wired connection to the home PC. Home PC uses XP pro
My sons' and I all connect via wireless to our laptops.
My sons both run Vista and Internet Explorer and I use XP pro and Internet Explorer.

Regards
woodcutta

Disable port forwarding for their bittorrent clients.

AAPT does not appear to have a usage meter, at least I could not get it to appear with a site search.

Look at this site then look at configuring wireless security and parental control. Wireless security should allow you to disable their MAC address (address of their wireless network card).

If I were you I would ring AAPT and get them to help you with a usage meter. If they can't then I would suggest you change ISPs to one that can. I say this because if you can't keep track of usage you run the risk of someone hacking in and you being throttled back, regularly.

Firefox's meter is here and it works with AAPT; unfortunately it won't work with IE.

Hi Groggy and MS,

I'm back to High speed as the new billing period has begun. I foung under my account that I can see what my usage is.
I think I will keep an eye on it closed this month and if it looks like getting near the limit I will disable their Mac addresses. There will be trouble I'm sure as it will be the other one that used all the download quota - but i'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

Thanks again
woodcutta

A good new adsl modem may be the way to go. Bought a linksys WAG200 or something like that, and you could set up rules - only allow certain ports, set up access times, block some sites, etc, and best still restrict the rule set to certain IP's. Great for keeping trainees off myspace

This may be over-kill, but if you were to purchase a serious router like a SonicWALL you'd have a plethora of options along these lines. I have TZ170 at home which allows me to do all sort of great stuff, they can also be picked up on ePay at not un-reasonable prices too. Have a look perhaps.

Why not buy THEM a wireless modem from telstra. Put $60 a month on it and if it runs out they can pay for the rest themselves.

Or explain who runs the show