usage rates

[gingergalore]

sorry if this sounds like a silly question, but does Windows 8 use more download than XP did? or has Idnet changed it's charging? ever since I bought a new laptop, I've been subject to surcharges on my bill

[Gary]

sorry if this sounds like a silly question, but does Windows 8 use more download than XP did? or has Idnet changed it's charging? ever since I bought a new laptop, I've been subject to surcharges on my bill

depends on so many factors, but its not going to be a lot the usual patches and the active tiles will use more but hardly enough to go over, is your wireless secure, has your usage changed, are you secured using WPA2 not WEP etc. Is someone piggy backing onto your router? Also how much are you going over buy, and have you done a good scan to make sure you have no malware. IDNet has just increased the useage limits for many. Check router logs too.

[gingergalore]

thanks gary - wifi router secured with password; usage is the same as previous 5 yrs; not sure what WPA2/WEP means - i'm just a silver surfer who used to get help from a clued-up son; scans regularly performed manually and automatically by ESET installation

[Simon]

WPA2 is more secure than WEP, but they are both types of encryption for your router security. 

You can check your bandwidth usage by the hour if you login to your IDNet control panel.  Also, if you're concerned, give IDNet a call and they can look at your usage for anything unusual. 

[colirv]

From your control panel you can see usage going back years.

[Technical Ben]

Updates on Windows 8 will be larger (more often as still updated). It also has "documents backup to cloud" on as default (I think) if you use an MSN account etc.
It may also be the new laptop plays videos more. It's like a new fast car, it can be driven efficiently, but it's so hard to lay off the accelerator.