Have I been dudded ?

[craigb]

Last Friday, I converted to Optus Broadband. Some may remember the post I made at the time.

One of the reasons I went BB was that I could have v. good response time for only a little more that what I was paying for dialup as I went for the cheapest deal which included 200 mb download per month.

This seemed heaps to me 'cause I was basically only going to use my @home connection to access the WWA bulletin board and with my dialup connection, I don't think I ever used anywhere near a 100mb in a month.

Anyway, too cut a long story short, on Sunday (three days after installation), I checked my usage and found i had "used" 83mb :eek:

Apart from downloading some XP fixes all I had acessed was the Ubeaut site.

Monday I didnt't use my PC. Tuesday, I spent about half an hour on the board. Today I find that I'm up to 103 MB . :eek:

What the hell is going on?

Once my 200 mb is used up I get to access the net at 28.8. Terrific I can't wait :rolleyes: .

Craig

[RETIRED]

Some of the XP fixes are rather large.:D

I had the same prob with Bigpond and had to go up another level.

[echnidna]

I reckon the telco's have leaked out onto the ground underneath the bottom of the barrel

[SteveI]

Craig

make sure you have a firewall (even a simple NAT on the modem) so hackers can't get into your PC and use up your allocation doing it.. On Broadband you get charged for upload and download.

To be safe, turn off the modem when you are not using it. You will find even if your PC is turned off, with the modem on, you can still have traffic on the connection as people try for port scans etc.
I put a timer on my broadband modem so it turns off at night when the 16 year old computer scientists are looking for a thrill.

[Tankstand]

Don't forget that every page you visit and view has to be downloaded through your server and counts towards your total! :eek:

[craigb]

Steve,

I have a firewall (Sygate). Its logs aren't showing me anything untoward.

A mate pointed out to me today that by the time a hacker has hit one of your ports (even if they can't get in), your ISP has already charged you for the "download" .

Always on ? I don't think so - I'll be turning off the pc AND the modem.

Craig

[Sturdee]

Craig, look at some of their other plans, 200 Mb is not very much.

My Optus plan is 12 Gig download ( no upload fee) for $ 69.95 pm.This is the same as I was paying before with dial up service with Isp fees, separate phone line and calls.

BTW Telstra has a similar plan but charges for excess useage at a hefty price instead of limiting down load speeds.


Peter.

[craigb]

Pete,

I expect you are right. It's just that I REALLY don't like being scammed.

Craig

[Sturdee]

Craig,

At least with Optus you are not charged extra.

I have heard on talkback radio of people being charged up to $ 800 for a month excess traffic on their 200 Mb plan.

BTW with my daughter downloading her favourite TV programs over the net direct from the the US we use our monthly limit and some times on the last day of the month we are also restricted to 28 kb speed :(

Peter.

[vsquizz]

Windows XP SP 2 was at least 80 Mb and larger for some, it was selectively released across Australia from last week. If you had auto update on then thats what it was. Bigpond charge an obscene rate for going over and Optus are no better. You should look at this, no contracts and no fees if you go over:

http://www.iinet.net.au/products/home/bliink/index.html

I think my limit is 6 Gb, I've tried but I can't use it in a month:D . The no contract was what sold me. On the two occaisions I have called them I got to speak to " a Human Being".

On principal I wont ever use anything from Optus due to their marketing strategy and the barrage of calls from Mumbai :mad: . I don't even try to be civil to them anymore.


Cheers

[gemi_babe]

Should always do your research with the servers. I am with westnet and they are now all over Australia. Good thing with them is they have a 'download vault'. Many many programs in there and if you are a member, and you download from their site it doesn't go on your download limit.

www.westnet.com.au (http://www.westnet.com.au) for more info if any of you are looking for a change.

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 5px" vAlign=top width=18>http://www.westnet.com.au/images/bullets/roundbullet.gif</TD><TD class=blue9 width="100%">e) What does WestNet consider as ‘free traffic’?</TD></TR><TR><TD width="100%" bgColor=#99cc00 colSpan=2>http://www.westnet.com.au/images/spacer/spacer.gif</TD></TR><TR><TD align=right width="100%" colSpan=2></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=grey9 align=left>Answer:
WestNet considers everything within the WestNet Neighbourhood as free traffic. Peer-to-peer transfers between WestNet customers in the same state and to customers on other WAIX/PIPE ISPs are also considered free. Local WestNet data such as the 3FL Gaming Services and the WestNet Download Vault also count as free traffic. Free Traffic does not count towards your download limit. Please note that some of the resources above are only available in certain states. For example, WAIX is only available to West Australian customers. Please see the WestNet Neighbourhood (http://www.westnet.com.au/products/broadband/adsl/neighbourhood.asp (http://www.westnet.com.au/products/broadband/adsl/neighbourhood.asp)) page for more details.

Disclaimer: In instances where customers may wish to take advantage of the the free Neighbourhood traffic made available to them with their ADSL connection through WestNet, it is the client’s own responsibility to perform the necessary checks, as described in our detailed Peering Information page (no link yet), for determining the route through which the data is travelling.


And for info on hacking http://www.westnet.com.au/support/faq/showquestion.asp?faq=8&fldAuto=91

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

[Perthite]

I have been through many isp"s in the past but now l am with wesnet and its just the best. Never any problems with downloads and always a human to talk to if problems arise.

[ozwinner]

Try here for plans etc. (http://bc.whirlpool.net.au/)


Al

[Zed]

---rant on---

Do you lot think that running a telecoms netwok is cheap ?and that once the network is built all those electrons and ones a zeros running around the glass and copper is free ? think again boofheads. theres legal fees, government taxes and kickbacks, advertising, cost of infastructure (power & air in exchange spaces - the cost of those 2 alone!!!), staff, real estate, desktop equipment, IT costs, vendor agreements, support agreements, leasing on land and buildings,o/s carrier costs, building buildings, the cost of digging up turf and stone to lay cable - both in ground and under water, lets not forget Optus's satellites (of which one blew up on the launch pad but they still had to pay for!!!) etc etc I could go on all day - literally.

I dont deny telco's make a $hitload of money - but they spend a $hitload too - lots of it on infastructure - look at all the legislative issues that telstra and now optus have to deal with wrt regional areas and the bush.... this all costs money to set up and run. dont forget we have approx 18 mill people with a an average density of 2 people per sq km - they are all legally entitled to good carrier service - and they want it all and the want it now and they want it for free - ********! No other public service except water, power & health is more regulated that your local telephone call.

why abuse the chick at the call centre when she's just doing her job ? thats complete disrespect and ********! its like abusing the 17yo check out chick at woolies because they raised the price of your favourite toothpaste - pointless and gutless!

Squizz - if one of your customers abused you as you knocked on thier door asking for work - how would you react ???? dont forget that those call centre people are not that well paid for the work they do - especially those in India!! why abuse them - i've seen them react - the young girls cry, the older harder nosed ones just think "what a fcukwit that person was" and have a laugh over it - what was the use in that ? huh ? does it make you feel better ? are you a mass market hero now because you dissed a unknown c/s person over a phone ? what if your daughter came home from that and told you what happens to her every day of her working life - how would you feel ?

if it wasnt for the carriers - you woudnt be logged on now reading this would ya ? allow business to make money people - ok the carriers are doing ok - but so are many other companies that dont get abused - the carriers are just high profile. your energy is better spent elsewhere!

---rant off---

[simon c]

I would saythat there is nothing wrong with the optus plan but:

As a few others have mentioned, if you did the windows xp sp2 then that would almost certainly generate most of your usage. One the problems is that because the microsoft download servers are very fast, you can run up a lot more usage downloading from them than you would on a normal website

Secondly, 200 mb is not a large amount. Users who switch from dialup to broadband don't realise that the increased speed they have means that they use the internet a lot more than before and therefore download a lot more traffic than they would on dialup - however this doesn't appear to be the problem you are facing, yet ;-).

I would stick at it for a couple of months as it looks like the windows xp thing was a bit of an anomaly, but be aware taht 200mb is not alot, especially if you start to click on links to videos and music files etc, something you wouldn't have done when you had dialup.

Simon

[Stevenp]

I am with telstra big pond broard band and they told me that they charge for data going both ways, (download and up load). apparently a computer sends a certain amount of data while you are surfing.
They told me that any file sharing software is a big user so be careful.
I run a thing called "Adadare" to get rid of any spyware that may have been automatically installed without Me knowing. Hope this helps

Steven P.

[namtrak]

We're with Internode.on.net and get 16 GB per month for $49. No conditions. On top of that there are also free data sites that Internode dont 'charge downloads' for. I can cruise sites like abc.net.au or tucows.net and not have my downloads affected.

I also agree check whirlpool.net.au out - it is a great site for getting info about broadband internet

[simon c]

Hi Steven

Optus only charge for downloads not uploads and they throttle file sharing software (things like kazaa, etc) so they are a pretty good plan overall. However, most of the providers have a very low usage plan that they know everybody will get sick of and move up to a bigger one.

Simon

[Ian007]

I have telsta's cable broadband sevice & Pay $59.95 a month unlimited but i think they slow your download speeds after 10Gig. used to pay $64.95 per month for 1Gig

200mb is very little amount of info can you upgrade to a different plan?

Ian :)

[bitingmidge]

Curiously when I upgraded from dial up, my downloads DOUBLED without any discernable change in internet habits.

I put that down to pages fully loading before I had a chance to move on, that is when "clicking through" a site which would not have loaded on the old dialup account. Also I would not have persevered with a number of Flash sites which now download almost instantly.

Some months there is 100mb of software too, but I soon ran out at 500 per month.

So in the space of a year,my usage has grown by over 500 Mb per month, and I don't download movies, music or other traditionally big files.

It's just a conspiracy.

P :cool:

[craigb]

Yes I know that 200mb is not a lot, but I hardly use the internet at home.

Essentially all I use it for is to check this board. I don't download music or film files or anything like that and I don't spend hours surfing.

That's the reason I went for such a small limit. Also I don't have auto update on either. I'm just at a loss to understand where the usage is coming from as my usage pattern hasn't changed from dialup. As I said, when I had dial-up I'd struggle to use more than 20 mb a month. Since broadband I've used 120mb in 5 days!

If I was into conspiracy theories I'd have to think that provider was trying to drive me to a more expensive plan. :rolleyes:

Craig

[Zed]

Craig if you feel you have a genuine beef - contact your carrier and get them to explain whats been going on, there could be many reasons you have high utilisation - they can possibly investigate it for you and explain - if they can give you data on your usage you may be able to address your concerns by turing things off etc... I dont think its a conspiracy... driving up the usage of a single bb customer is hardly worth any corporate effort... :D

if you get no joy and you still feel you are being gypped contact the telecommunications ombudsman which is the next step of escalation.

[vsquizz]

Hey Zed, you got some sort of an agenda with the Telco's seems like it. I don't know what you are raving about but it certainly wasn't following the discussion of this thread.

Before you accuse me of abusing anybody and being a general pedaller of misery and wrecker of lives; I stated that "I do not even bother with being civil anymore" which means Monkey Boy that I Just say "No thank you" loudly and hang up. 7 phones calls in a month is enough. My requests for legitimate ingformation about the product offered results in me being transferred and hung-up on. I have no beef with call centres just Optus. I have written to Optus - no response yet.

I suggest you get your moral high horse in check before you open the gate.

[Zed]

OK slightly off topic - conceded.

yes I do have an agenda with carriers (I work for one of 'em)

if you have a genuine complaint with optus - call the ombudsman, dont just winge about it.

I had a moral high horse but kept falling off (and pushed a few times too) so I dont use it any more - I just dont like to see people abused or the victims or rudeness when they are just doing thier job. you dont like it - put yourself in thier shoes - I bet they dont like it either.

Cheers

[craigb]

I wasn't whinging, merely trying to find out what was going on and for that reason canvassing the experiences of the other members of this board.

If you can't use a bulletin board to excahnge information without being accused of whinging, then what's the point?

However, you are correct and I WILL be contacting OPTUS to see what they have to say.

I don't think that I need to contact the ombudsman just yet.

[vsquizz]

No worries Zed, I knew what was going on.


Cheers

NB. Why don't you start a thread on Telco's. My HO is that Telstra should get right out of SP and stick to the hardware/infrastructure and that it should remain in public ownership.

Anyway that should start something:D

NB 2 Craig I'd keep monitoring your system/processes for awhile and go for a cleanup with Adaware and something like System Mechanic. I think you can put a free version of Zone Alarm on where you can configure the internet lock to "shut the door" after a certain period or if traffic starts without authorisation.

[jackiew]

... I dont think its a conspiracy... driving up the usage of a single bb customer is hardly worth any corporate effort... :D
.

as the scots say, many a mickle maks a muckle.

If I worked for the commonwealth bank say and I could extract 5c out of every bank account every month for a year I'd be on a nice little earner but no-one else would miss that 60c.

The trick is to raise your mickle to the maximum that the individual customer will bear and therefore maximise your muckle.

I had a somewhat irate conversation with telstra when they raised the fees on my phone account by putting me on a New Plan with all of these wonderful features that I didn't want and won't use. I rang up and said please can you put me back on my old plan I don't want the new features.

And Telstra said ...errr.... there isn't an old plan any more ... we got rid of it, this new plan is the replacement. So they get the extra money and as I won't be using their extra services they are laughing all the way to the bank.

In this case if it costs you more to use the bottom broadband plan having made the plunge to broadband in the first place you will upgrade therefore guaranteeing them a bigger amount for the next 24 months or whatever. They can then forecast their profits to be higher ... their share price goes up, the guys at the top get their bigger bonus ....

[Dan]

I made a mistake by underestimating my usage when switching to broadband and also made a mistake by accepting Telstras offer over the phone without looking too closely at what other plans were offering and what other poeple were saying at the time (my own stupidity amazes me at times). Long story short, upgraded to 500Mb plan within first couple of months, last bill $66.83 for 648.16Mb. :confused: :mad:

[barnsey]

Thanks for the info guys - have wanted to go to broadband but have had a nagging feeling about it. And the Telco's just rub their hands together. I got a raw deal from O!@#$%l many years ago when I was with them and I changed to a plan they recommended. Next bill was hundreds of dollars :eek:

I managed to negotiate a deal but I'm very careful now and find Austarnet other than the fact they got out of broadband are reliable and consistant.

Just mine FWIW

Jamie

[graemet]

Craig,
I am with ozemail, 300mB for $29.50, but no extra if I go over, only the possibility that they (may) slow me up. Last month an extra 5 mB was the same speed. Get your big XP upgrades on CD ROM , no charge and save the 80mB for important things like woodwork.
Graeme

[Honest Gaza]

---rant on---


why abuse the chick at the call centre when she's just doing her job ?
---rant off---

WHY ????

Because I told the ***** every night last week not to call me during dinner. She can do her job without annoying the crap out of me !!!!!

[Dan]

Forgot to add GST in my last post, so it's now $73.51 for 648.16Mb and you could throw in around $42.00 for the phone line because I only used it to make a whopping $0.68 worth of calls last month (need line for internet otherwise would disconnect and get a prepaid mobile).

[SteveI]

Note from Telstra on port scanning FYI

'Port Scanning' may sound like something pirates and spies got up to in days of old, but it's actually a sophisticated aspect of online crime. A port is a place where information goes into and out of a computer. For example 'www' traffic goes via one port, while email traffic goes via another. Criminals use sophisticated programs to scan PC's remotely and identify unprotected ports. They can then hijack the PC to send out spam or steal personal details without the owner knowing. So closing any unused ports, along with adequate and up-to-date security software, is essential protection for your PC.

[Barry_White]

Living where I live I cannot get Broadband but I have an ISDN connection that runs at 64k. It cost me $109 to install and I pay $45 per month line rental which gives me two lines and I pay $29.95 a month ISP fees to Telstra.

Because I have it all on one bill with my mobiles I get a discount (Not much but at least a discount)

Last month Telstra just changed all the permanant dialup plans to unlimited downloads which makes me happy and I can be connected for 10 hours without being logged off.

Now you may say 64k is not very fast but coming from 12k to 24k to me that is lightening fast.

Because I live in an area that is suseptable to storms in twelve months I have had my ISDN modem box replaced 6 times all free of charge because Telstra own the ISDN box.

We have got to know the Telstra tech quite well and we just have a cup of coffee ready for him when he turns up.

Just yesterday we had him here for six hours tracking down a lightening fault where the line had been struck.

Because when we have a fault we don't ring the the normal number but the small business division they are very prompt and always ring you back after the job has been done to see if every thing has been done to your satisfaction.

So as you might gather I am extatic with what I have.

[capedcrusader]

I just dont like to see people abused or the victims or rudeness when they are just doing thier job. you dont like it - put yourself in thier shoes - I bet they dont like it either.


I dont think you have to be too sensitive about the feelings of people whose job it is to get their hands in your pocket (for your money I mean) The best strategy with these suckers is to deliberately waste their time because like the android police in the film THX 1138 they have a "budget" that each potential customer is "worth" so just let them talk and dont even listen (go away and get a beer) and at the end when theyre trying to make you feel guilty about wasting their precious time just say no thanks. What about those marketing turkeys that ring you up then hang up a few times to make you feel hassled while youre standing there saying hello over and over and then finally call and talk to you and say that youre possibly going to win a mortgage payout prize and then start to ask you all manner of questions until you hang up on the cheeky b@stards (the answers to which get sold to all manner of databases)
Only good telemarketer is a dead one. (unless theyre from a third world country and otherwise have no employment options)

[gemi_babe]

I did telemarketing for a while to make ends meet.

It was for roof restoration and they wanted us to say "we are in your area...bla bla bla" I couldn't lie like that, so that job didn't last long LOL

I did do a few sales and the commision was worth it if you can BS really well, but not me. But just remember and try to be polite cause some of these telemarketers are just entering back into the workforce from either being full time mum or being unemployed for a very long time and some are even disabled. When they ring me, I say, its a tough job, been there but no thanks. And they agree, it is hard to keep pushing on from one abusive person to the next. To keep morale high to get that pay packet at the end of the week.... so please, just be polite and say thanks but no thanks.

I am polite to telstra customer service, but after 5 or 6 holds and moved on from one section to the next, ya patience wears thin.

[AlexS]

If I could find out the name & address of the company doing the marketing or even the real address of the company they're flogging, I'd be a bit kinder to the poor telemarketer. I'd really like to start ringing a few of the directors of these companies at a time that's convenient to me...just to give them some of their own back. But if the telemarketer won't tell me, then they are fair game.

I tried ADMA and also the telemarketers industry association for a list of their members...sure, they're going to give that out...they might get nuisance phone calls.

Of course, our gutless politicians of all colours won't do anything to wipe out this scourge...they get too much graft in their pockets from the scumbags, and little johnny's twirpy son is the head of a telemarketing company himself. These people are the sludge on the bottom of the gene pool, and the sooner they are marched to the guillotines the better!

Aaaah, that feels better.

[jackiew]

in fact our gutless politicians have been quite happy to assist in passing out our details to all and sundry in the form of the electoral roll.

I quote from a document about an audit of the electoral registers

"The AEC is authorised to provide electoral information to a range of external users. Most electors would be unaware of the extent to which personal information provided in order to enrol, and data extrapolated from AEC systems, is available for secondary purposes. "

as of july 2004 they've tightened up on this a bit and are no longer allowed to SELL :eek: the infomation.

those in Victoria might also be interested in a change in the law which has just come into force - the best bit is at the end so read on:D

quoting ....
The Victorian Fair Trading Act 1999 (FTA) has been recently amended. The amendments, which take effect on 30 August 2004, will insert a new Division 2A in the FTA which will regulate 'telephone marketing agreements' between a trader and a consumer (under which the total consideration payable by the consumer is either greater than $100, or not ascertainable at the time of making the agreement).

The new provisions provide that:

- a telemarketing agreement commences on the date of the telephone conversation in which the agreement was reached, provided that the consumer has given 'explicit informed consent' to the agreement

-records of the consumer's 'explicit informed consent' must be kept by the telemarketer and made available for inspection by Consumer Affairs Victoria

- consumers must be advised in telephone marketing conversations of their cooling-off rights

- consumers must be sent a prescribed cooling-off notice and the terms of the agreement (in writing) within five days of the telephone conversation or any longer agreed period

- a cooling-off period of 10 days commences from the date of receipt by the consumer of the cooling-off notice and the copy of the agreement

- there is a six month 'penalty' cooling-off right where the trader fails to send the cooling-off notice and the copy of the agreement, and

- consumers can exercise their cooling-off right by telephoning the trader.

Additionally, under the new provisions, the hours of telemarketing are restricted to 9am–8pm on weekdays, 9am–5pm on Saturdays and Sundays, and precluded on public holidays.

[vsquizz]

9am to 8pm, it makes me sick. I don't see how they should, unsolicited, be able to ring you at ALL.

Cheers

[MarkV]

Why not get an unlisted number if it really annoys you ;)

[vsquizz]

Its my business number

[MarkV]

Bugger That really sucks:eek:

[vsquizz]

Joys of home office :D . No point whining, just vote with my feet.

[jackiew]

and you get charged extra for a Silent Number, $2.93 a month + GST with Telstra last time I looked ... probably gone up since then. A source of annoyance everytime I check my phone bill. :mad:

I personally can't see how they can justify charging an on-going fee for what is going to be just a byte of information in your record which will be set to either 1 or 0 depending upon your choice. Set and forget. When they are selecting info for the phone book they just have to filter on that flag.

When they are doing directory enquiries their software just has to go

if silent number flag = true
then
call "play silent number recording"
else
call "reading the number out loud program"

i.e. yet another rip off

Effectively I am being charged for their loss of revenue because scabby marketers can't look my number up in the phone book and hassle me.

If memory serves me right they don't even offer you a silent number when you set up a phone account ... you have to ask for it and then they sound all surprised and tell you about the charge trying to put you off.

end of rant!

[Zed]

On saturday I got Optus broadband, 200Mg download then throttle down to 28.8. This morning I got a love letter from Optus saying "you've reached 80% Mr Zed..."

it doesnt take long to chew through 200Mg these days!

on the plus side at least I dont get increased fees.

I may have to upgrade to the unlimited plan, it will be hard to go back to 64k...

[ptc]

Your lucky,
mine runs at 33.5k and thats on a good day !

what broadband, one day may be ?
ptc

[capedcrusader]

Why not get an unlisted number if it really annoys you ;)

They probably sell unlisted numbers as well to business organisations - they just dont make them available to the general public. Telemarketers also get the numbers from any number of organisations that youve given your contact details to ie: banks/councils etc

[craigb]

Well my 200mb ran out on Friday, so I had it for two weeks, woohoo! :rolleyes:
28.8 really sucks :(

Fortunately, I still have some time left on my old dialup plan so at least I've got 56k at the moment.

Next month I'll be watching it like a hawk.

Actually I did an experiment one night last week. I checked my usage on the web at work, then when I used the PC that night, I only went to this BB.
I spent 45 minutes online (I timed it). Next day I checked how much the visit to the board had cost and it was 5mb. It seemed a like a lot.

Craig