is there a program to monitor data usage?

I was wondering how to find out how much data each program uses up in one day if running all day & if running for 10 hrs? :confused

 

Plenty of them. You are really better in placing a pfsense box between the Modem from your ISP, or as a Proxy on your network, to gather info as to the use going from the network, to the outside world.

What is your provider, what router make & model do you have?

 

Try NetLimiter

 

It's actually an AT&T hot spot - our data usage went through the roof so I wondered which programs are hogging it up - we don't use it for anything other than working programs - it seems our Avast AV is the culprit. Now we're searching for an AV that won't use so much data running.

 

Really no way with hotspots. As for the AV, just go with Microsoft Security Essentials, vs. Avast.

 

I don't get this. Other than communicating with their server for virus definition and program updates, how does an antivirus program generate data flow?

 

If it is using Cloud real-time it will stream data all the time. See http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/avast_introduces_streaming_updates_new_antivirus_software Of course if the OP went in and changed the settings, it would not stream updates in real time. Avast has of course become as bloated as Norton & McAfee, which is why people are going with something like Microsoft Security Essentials now.

 

Hmm, I'm using Avast with Win 7 and Win 8 and I don't sense bloat with it. And, based on my experience with Norton Internet Security during a trial period with a laptop I bought around 3/1/13, the current version of Norton is not bloated. Norton had a reputation for being bloated in the past, and that was for good reason, but my recent experience with it indicates they've done a good job resolving that.