Unusually high internet traffic

[#1]

I just looked at the 'view my usage' section on the portal and it says that my usage for yesterday was 852MB. That's well over 10 times my normal daily usage. I was on the internet for quite a while, but I wasn't downloading anything and I can't explain where this traffic has come from. Is there any chance the portal has got it wrong? Or could some sort of malware on my PC be causing it? I haven't noticed anything else unusual and I have AVG 8 installed.

[#2]

Have you taken a look at the rest of this month's usage? Yesterday isn't the only day you've used an amount similar to this (although admittedly most of the usage is off-peak for the rest of the month).
I notice that your uploads are pretty high (468.61MB yesterday). Could you have unwittingly left some sort of peer-to-peer application running yesterday?

[#3]

Quote from: deadfly

Or could some sort of malware on my PC be causing it?

You haven't been using BBC iPlayer or similar have you? 

[#4]

Yes, sorry I was just talking about daytime traffic. I do use p2p software to download things but I always wait until after midnight. I'm very careful about this and I'm 99.9% sure it wasn't running yesterday. All the other figures are as I would expect, it's just Tuesday's 'paid-for usage' that is unusually high.

[#5]

Quote from: HPsauce

Quote from: deadfly Or could some sort of malware on my PC be causing it? You haven't been using BBC iPlayer or similar have you?

No, I don't use it. I might have watched a couple of 30 second youtube clips, but not 800 meg's worth!

[#6]

Here's an hourly breakdown of what you used during peak hours:

Hour | Upload | Download
12	1.58     9.80
13	0.98     2.60
14	0.93     3.67
15	1.79     13.69
16	6.27     117.64
17	11.45    219.22
18	11.05    224.86
19	9.76	  185.07
20	1.63	  30.03
22	0.09	  0.16
23	0.11	  0.21

Looks like most of it was download and was between 4:00pm and 8:00pm.

[#7]

Quote from: Bob

Here's an hourly breakdown of what you used during peak hours: Hour | Upload | Download 12 1.58     9.80 13 0.98     2.60 14 0.93     3.67 15 1.79     13.69 16 6.27     117.64 17 11.45    219.22 18 11.05    224.86 19 9.76   185.07 20 1.63   30.03 22 0.09   0.16 23 0.11   0.21 Looks like most of it was download and was between 4:00pm and 8:00pm.

Thanks, that helps in narrowing down when it happened but I'm still baffled as to what caused it. It's not happened again so I suppose I'll just have to keep an eye on the figures.

[#8]

Are you using a wireless router?  Is it secure?  Could it be that someone else has access to it if it's not.

[#9]

No, it's not wireless.

[#10]

I had an unexplained spike of exactly 1GB last Wednesday which bears no relation to my activity that day or any other. The wireless is secure, Windows is up to date and I have no signs of malware so I am very suspicious of a system which has effectively billed me a quarter of my allowance for one day's surfing.

[#11]

If you're worried about usage you could always try installing something like Net Meter or DU Meter on to your PC.  You'd have to remember to tally up the usage on all the devices on your network if you're running more than 1 PC though as the programs only give you information about data transfer for the PC they're installed on.

[#12]

thanks, I may well do that