Browsing Frugally Without Wasting Bandwidth? 450
forrestm writes "At home, my internet connection is limited to 1GB / month before I have to pay extra. At my university, I'm charged around 2.5c per megabyte. I rarely download anything big, but I often go through a large amount of bandwidth by simply browsing around. For example, when I play a YouTube video, click a link, and then return to the video, the whole video reloads. When I read some websites, such as BoingBoing.net or Cnet.com, my status bar shows a whole lot of data being transferred through other domains. Some pages seem to send/receive data at certain intervals for the duration of my visit. When I begin to enter a search in Firefox's search bar, a list of suggestions is automatically downloaded. In addition to this, Firefox often requests internet access of its own accord, even though I have automatic updating turned off. All this is costing me! How do I stop unsolicited use of my internet connection? How do I go about not wasting bandwidth like this?"
That's lousy (Score:3, Informative)
Why would it be so bad in a day where technology should be so advanced?
What about disabling pictures/whatever in your Internet browser settings?
Use Squid (Score:4, Informative)
Here you go (Score:4, Informative)
Re:No Script (Score:5, Informative)
I find No Script to be a bit of a pain, usually, because I seem to spend half of my time allowing things that I need. Adblock, however, is the only thing that keeps the internet usable for me when I exceed my download limit. I get shaped down to 56k instead of my usual 10 Mb/s - a very painful fall. Adblock lets me load pages in far less than half the time it would take without it. It's shocking how much crap is foisted on us at our own expense, really.
Firefox connections (Score:2, Informative)
When in doubt, consult the source.
http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Firefox+makes+unrequested+connections [mozilla.com]
Re:No Script (Score:2, Informative)
... because I seem to spend half of my time allowing things that I need...
You can either white list those "things that I need" or go to better Web sites. If you want Web 2.0 then you need a better connection. If you want to save bandwidth turn off all scripting and disallow iframes, meta-refreshes, plugins etc. Better yet use Lynx as people have already suggested. A Website that can't be viewed with Lynx is a Web site not worth visiting.
Re:Squid. (Score:5, Informative)
Something like "Downloadhelper is good for Youtube. It's a Firefox extension. You don't need Javascript or flash enabled to use it. Just download the video and watch it as many times as you want. I know there are other programs like this, but this one is actually up-todate and simple to use.
Re:No Script (Score:1, Informative)
Seconding Adblock Plus. Less maintenance and user-interaction involved. Blocks not only javascript but also images, frames, objects, and even ajax requests. Here's an easy filter that blocks all the js crap that wordpress users put on their websites: /wp-content/plugins/
Also try HttpFox. It monitors all http traffic in Firefox, including the Google autocomplete requests.
Use Opera (Score:1, Informative)
Use http://www.opera.com/ [opera.com]. You can set all kinds of "site preferences" including javascript, (turn it off! will save lots of bandwidth), plugins, etc.
You can also "block content", like from advertisers and 3rd party links, unneeded extra pictures and crap, etc. It's really great!!
You can also set user or author mode, including css, etc.
Also you can set up a firewall to block all of the ad servers, like admt.com, advertising.com, the whole list- block them all!
Try it- you will love it!!
Some Firefox suggestions (Score:3, Informative)
I have a couple of suggestions for Firefox...
Don't load images: Preferences -> Content and uncheck "Load images automatically".
Block other media you don't want: FlashBlock [mozdev.org], AdBlock [mozilla.org], QuickJava [mozilla.org] (for Java and JavaScript)
You could also try fiddling with the browser.cache.check_doc_frequency [mozillazine.org] in your about:config. I haven't tried it, but setting it to 2 might yield good results.
Re:No Script (Score:4, Informative)
I suggest FlashBlock instead of NoScript if he only wants to stop flash from being auto-downloaded and leave the JS alone.
Justin.
Four ways (Score:3, Informative)
1. Adblock Plus (not plain Adblock)
2. FlashBlock
3. Modified Hosts file (http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm)
4. If you need to watch a Youtube vid more than once, you can download it to your PC via keepvid.com.
Use Opera (Score:5, Informative)
Nobody suggested this yet, so I will:
Use Opera.
One of its really great features is the ability to browse the web with image loading turned off, either completely, or just by allowing already-cached images to be displayed. Ever ended up on a random forum while googling something and had half a dozen megabytes of flashy avatars and signatures loaded, plus someone embedding giant images into the thread? I have. Image loading toggle is a keypress or a mouse click away.
If you globally turn JavaScript and plugins off, you won't be surprised by a site loading a megabyte of JS from somewhere (damn those huge libraries), or by any kind of Flash content or embedded videos. Helps security, too. You can always whitelist sites you regularly use.
The third great thing about Opera is instant Back/Forward navigation. Nothing is reloaded. Extra bandwidth savings. Extra time savings, too, with mouse gestures.
Re:Squid. (Score:4, Informative)
It is *possible* to cache YouTube videos and the like, but you'd need some technical skill to pull it off. Basically, you'd write a Squid pre-filter that replaces embedded YouTube videos with an embedded call to a local cgi-script. On the first invocation, the cgi-script would download and cache the video while streaming it to the client. Subsequent calls would skip the download process.
Of course, this only saves bandwidth when you re-watch the same video over-and-over.
Even in the pre-YouTube days of the internet, Squid didn't help with bandwidth all that much. I once set up a Squid cache in transparent-proxy mode at an ISP with around 400 dial-up customers. I gave it 4 GB of cache space, which doesn't sound like much now, but our biggest drives were 500mb full-height SCSI bricks. I tuned every configurable option and pulled every trick in the book to maximize the caching. The experiment lasted around a month, during which time Squid saved us around 30% on our inbound bandwidth, according to log analysis. We finally had to shut it down because customers started to notice that they weren't seeing real-time data (like stock quotes) and some of them threatened to sue.
Bottom line: If you want low-bandwidth internet, use one of the these:
Lynx [isc.org]
Links [jikos.cz]
ELinks [elinks.or.cz]
w3m [sourceforge.net]
Firefox's search bar (Score:3, Informative)
Turn this feature off. Click on the downarrow to the left of the search box, select "Manage Search Engines" and de-select "Show search suggestions".
You can also disable this (annoying) feature for Google page searches from their Preferences page. This sets "SG=0" in the Google PREF cookie -- which I've set in my proxy server so it's effectively disabled for all my browsers.
WTF!?!?! (Score:5, Informative)
Dude, all you have to do when visiting a site to be white-listed is is :
1. visit the site.
2. navigate your curser to the 'S' with the red circle and slash (in the bottom right corner of FF), and choose "allow this page". If you have not set NoScript to refresh the page withe new settings (Windows= 'tools'> Add-ons> highlight (left-click/hover on NoScript in the 'add-ons' dialog box) NoScript, click on the 'Options' button> select 'General' tab> checkmark the box labeled 'Automatically reload affected pages when permissions change.'
3. ???
4. PROFIT!!!
For extra credit,try the "appearance' tab (Tools>Add-ons>NoScript>Options.
Personally, mine is set at:
(long story, short version) "Show..."
"Status bar labeled" == unchecked
"Full Domain" == unchecked
"Full Address" == unchecked
It provides a nice experience online for me, along with control over which parts of a web page can load.
When in doubt, you can always try "temporarily allow XYZ.org/com/net/edu".
P.S. I am currently having to settle for a Windows machine against my choice, but the above info is the same under Linux and Firefox, except it is accessed from "Edit">"Preferences">....
Re:No Script (Score:3, Informative)
So how would you rate my university's website, the only place I can sign up for my classes (IE only)? Should I quit until they fix it for lynx?
I don't know what University you go to. One university I was thinking of going to (when I was just a teeny-bopper) offered me a partial scholarship but I turned them down because of the very poor customer service. I would have probably done the same with your university. If you've already committed yourself financially then you can always try to ask for a refund or a transfer. I'm sorry to hear about your school. You should complain to the student union about this absurdity.
Re:easy (Score:5, Informative)
Use adblockplus rather than adblock. Adblock is obsolete, and does not work with current Firefox versions.
Here are some bandwidth saving keys to add to your user.js file: // Don't submit every character I type in the search box to google // Update extensions and Adblock filters every 15 days. // Note that the first is measured in seconds, and the second is measured in hours. // Block pages from autorefreshing
----
user_pref("browser.search.suggest.enabled", false);
user_pref("browser.search.update", false);
user_pref("extensions.update.interval", 1296000);
user_pref("extensions.adblockplus.synchronizationinterval", 360);
user_pref("accessibility.blockautorefresh", true);
---
Leave youtube videos loaded in the tab until you are sure you won't want to watch it again. I typically turn the sound off and allow a youtube video to load while I am surfing in another tab. When the video is done loading, I turn the sound back on and watch it from the beginning.
Comment removed (Score:5, Informative)
Re:No Script (Score:4, Informative)
And don't forget the wonder that is "Flashblock". That will stop your YouTube movies and other Flash content from loading until you explicitly click on them, so no more "driveby" bandwidth wastage.
Re:To quote Adam Savage: (Score:5, Informative)
There are two kinds of problems in this world:
Those you can do something about, and those you can not.
Soulskill did not say so, but I am willing to bet he is from South Africa (as I am). I will therefore answer in this context, if the context is wrong, apologies.
The 1Gb limit is fairly typical as is the charging per bandwidth by your university. Even if you go to the library, you still have to log in and you are charged.
The reasons for this are numerous (and I am not going to claim that I can give a fair analysis in such a short space) but it includes the facts that
* South Africa get's its international connectivity from the States and Europe. So there are seriously long cables that run to serve RELATIVELY small population of internet users.
* There is an effective monopoly (or by now duopoly) on bandwidth provision (and yes, this is being fought)
* South Africa (and most other third world countries) needs to pay for it connectivity to other countries (but why not the other way around?)
This landscape is changing, extra cables are being laid under sea, SLOWLY the market is being deregulated so we can look forward to some cheaper bandwidth in future. In the meantime, these are the cards we are being dealt.
So before giving an answer as simplistic as this (and being marked insightful 5!!!!) consider that the world is larger.
I hope this does add insight.
Flame away.
Re:To quote Adam Savage: (Score:1, Informative)
To be fair he could be in a third world nation where that is actually the top teir plan. For example a 1mbps "unlimited" connection in Vanuatu goes for the princly sum of $585 USD per month.
Perhaps 1gb downloads per month is all the submitter can reasonably afford, or even get.
I agree with the parent. I reside in Lebanon where internet infrastructure is poorly developed and the ISPs (for ADSL, EVDO, illegal cable internet) are essentially monopolies. The result is high cost and low quality. 2.5 gigs of throughput (2 gigs down, .5 up) costs me $50 using EVDO. Incidentally, EVDO is the only consumer-level internet infrastructure option if you want anything resembling broadband in speed and latency.
Re:No Script (Score:4, Informative)
Tip: focus on "accessibility for handicapped" as the main theme. Papers on these topics get higher grades and a higher chance of anyone actually caring.
Re:That's lousy (Score:5, Informative)
Re:That's lousy (Score:2, Informative)
Re:That's lousy (Score:2, Informative)
Re:easy (Score:3, Informative)
Or you can hit pause, switch to another window/tab and it will continue to load. When done, unpause.
Re:Here you go (Score:4, Informative)
Windows and Tabs (Score:2, Informative)
Re:That's lousy (Score:5, Informative)
$40/month isn't the sort of amount you want to be spending on non-necessary things like internet access.
OUT! Leave your geek card at the security desk.
How can you honestly call the internet "non-necessary" ? Yes, there's a lot of garbage on here, but how could any tech-savvy individual dismiss the evolutionary leap of the global information network ? Computers and the internet are the more significant achievements of our century, because they unlock a million other uses and are the first step toward unifying humankind.
What, you think all this man-vs-man, you-don't-know-what-I-know hate-breeding business is the path to enlightenment ? *cough* Wehell... thanks for nothing!
Re:That's lousy (Score:4, Informative)
Same here, 2.5 cent / MB!?!
If he made me a list I could download the things for him, burn them and send the discs for less :D
I see that people have suggested large cache, I guess ad- and flashblocker are basic stuff to.. But uhm, I guess the web of today do require quite a lot of bandwidth duh to all the bloa.... uhm, web2.0 and flash ..
I wonder if I would really waste my precious 1 GB of data on crap like youtube if I had a cap. Uninstall flash, block all ads, block shitty iFrames, get a decent deal on the connection, .. :D
Re:Library (Score:3, Informative)
What would be nice is if they had a large caching system on the local university network (which seems likely) and that they didn't charge students for access to any local (within the local network) system access, which seems much more difficult to track and "bill" so likely is not done.
Use filtering and caching proxies (Score:2, Informative)
You can run a caching proxy (e.g. "squid") on your computer to prevent re-fetching pages you've already fetched, and chain it to a filtering proxy (e.g. "privoxy") to block downloading of large but superfluous stuff like advertisements. If you're not already using Firefox, you might consider trying it, and installing the NoScript and/or Flashblock extensions to give you control over Flash, Java and other downloads that might otherwise automatically happen whether you actually want them or not.
Re:That's lousy (Score:3, Informative)
Brett and Jermaine!
"Don't put me in der wit 'im! I'm innocent, i'm innocent! whuut?"