Looking for a program that i can set to limit downloads

Im looking for a name of any progra, that i can install and set the downloads limits,i keep going over my bandwith,because of the kids com downstaris and would luike to limit there downloads to 30GB.:confused

 

Depending on your provider, if you are using a router that you can load third party software like Tomato or DD-WRT, you can throttle. You can also use pfSense or Smoothwall on a computer, to also restrict the computers on the network, etc.

Otherwise, lock the computers down. Best way is with Windows 7 Pro, so that you can use the GPO to restrict what workstation users can do on the machines. Also, you can set the user for how much drive space that they can use in their profile.

Personally, I would just get a larger drive, sit down and tell everyone as a family, what they need to do to work together. My son has a 500gb hard drive on his machine, and with the music on it, we still have over 250gb available for whatever he wishes to do with. If we need more, I can always add another 500gb or 1TB drive in his machine.

 

what i mean is im allowed 100gb a month ,so i want to cap what the kids computer can download.

 

If the kids are all using a WiFi connection, you could check your router and see if the wireless speed can be set to 802.11 "b". This is a far slower speed than "g" or "n" - fast enough to load web pages and e-mail, but usually deathly slow on downloads. This is a trick that Starbucks and other free WiFi hotspots use to keep customers from downloading Blu-Ray movies while sipping on a cappuccino.

If this doesn't work, try plan B: Upgrade to a plan with a higher limit and take the difference out of the kids' allowances. :-D

 

so theres really not a program that simply only lets a computer download so much then ,say requires a password to go beond that

 

Nope. You have to use something like Smoothwall or pfSense, that you can use QOS, or a router that allows you to use DD-WRT on it. There are some SoHo routers with the features built in, but it takes a little bit of learning curve.

Who is your provider, what is the manufacturer & model# of the modem & router, and what OS are you using?

The problem with add-on softwares, is that users can find ways to get around. Also keep in mind, that watching stuff on Netflix through a xbox, Wii, PS3, Roku, Blu-Ray, etc, you will not be able to limit through software, so hardware comes into play.

I have ATT U-Verse, and use the Uverse Realtime program to see what Usage is being used across the network for Internet. The writer is using RRDTool http://www.mrtg.org/rrdtool/ within the program, so that you can see use off of the router, for the whole network. pfSense & Smoothwall also pretty much use the same tool, but you have to place the box between the modem & switch, so that all activity goes through it.