Why is my Internet bandwidth usage so high?
Below are several ways to find out how your bandwidth is used and some tips to decrease your usage.
Begin by checking your weekly usage by going to My Account.
If there are peaks in usage, you may be able to identify the cause.
The most common causes of overuse are downloading music, movies, games, and videos. As a guide, watching videos on YouTube uses approximately 125 MB/hour.
Sharing sites or those that use torrent-style programs can be responsible for large amounts of downloads. The settings for this type of program can be modified to reduce the amount of date you share with other users.
If you have a wireless router, be sure to protect it with a password that you change regularly in case it is compromised. Without a password, anyone can use your bandwidth.
If you notice an extreme level of usage (over 200 GB), your computer may have been infected by a virus. You can use Cogeco's free online virus scanner to see if that is the case.