Send and Receive data over the internet

[scottygish]

Hi all -

Trying to figure out my slow dialup connection. It made a significant change for the worse a few months ago, but even with a change in dialup service it's still slow (even for a dialup). When I open the Internet Connect application while I'm online, I notice that I seem to be sending data as frequently as I'm receiving it, as indicated by the blue bars. Two questions - first, is this right? Do you send a lot of data out while you're online? And second, is there an easy way to see how much data is being sent? Back in windows I recall there being a running counter logging how much data was sent out or received. I'm wondering if I've picked up some program that's sending data out without my knowledge and thereby slowing down my receipt speed. Any ideas???

Thanks!

Scott

[Randman]

Menu meters is freeware that you can set in your menu bar that can be customized to show incoming and outgoing traffic. Very handy app.

[scottygish]

Originally Posted by Randman

Menu meters is freeware that you can set in your menu bar that can be customized to show incoming and outgoing traffic. Very handy app.

I'll give it a try - thanks!

[perfessor101]

Originally Posted by scottygish

When I open the Internet Connect application while I'm online, I notice that I seem to be sending data as frequently as I'm receiving it, as indicated by the blue bars. Two questions - first, is this right?

There are different possibilities here.

1. If this is happening from a single location there is a high probability it is caused by a noisy POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) local line loop. Even if, or maybe especially if, you are connecting at the same nominal speed you could be getting lots of data errors requiring your computer to request data packets to be resent. Thus dramatically slowing the entire process and increasing the number of outgoing packets requesting retransmission. Often a lower connection speed will result in faster data transfer because lower speeds are less sensitive to line noise. If your local telco is cooperative you might get them to test your local line loop. Be aware the noise may be originating in your residence and might be your problem to correct.
2. There are some applications, Acrobat, InDesign and several others that check in when they are launched to see if there are updates and some even download and install those updates without any notification to the user. That can cause a significant increase in traffic but it is usually only in bursts.
3. The odds of your having a virus or worm are somewhere between slim and none, since there are no known viruses or worms that infect OS X so you can eliminate this one from contention.

As a former telco employee and a modem user from before the days of the itnernet, my bet is something has changed in your house or between your house and the telco central that is causing additional line noise. I used to advise folks to try different modem scripts, especially scripts forcing a lower connection speed but I haven't had the need to figure out how to do that in OS X yet.