I've got one PC which SWMBO and I use.
We've both got Yahoo mail as our main email (with different addresses). Yahoo mail doesn't seem to allow both addresses to be open on the same browser, so I use firefox while SWMBO stayed with IE (she's even less computer savvy than me).
Our usage seems to be increasing lately (we're on a limit - I'm looking to change ISP). I've got ad-blocker that seems to be working fine on firefox. SWMBO gets scrolling adverts to the right of her yahoo mail, which I suspect could be eating up some of our allowance. I've got an ad-blocker installed that blocks only a couple of ads a day before asking for a subscription to do more!
There's an icon in the top RH corner of the ads that seem to take me to a site to block them. It doesn't work!
Suggestions welcome please.
Is there a decent ad-blocker that works well with IE?
Recommend another browser for SWMBO where I can block the ads, but I'll no doubt get months of whining about it not working properly.
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Google Chrome and use AdBlock extension. Or Safari also with AdBlock plugin/extension.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Sat 2 Feb 13 at 14:52
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>>Our usage seems to be increasing lately
Can you quantify that?
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+1 for Chrome - installed on my Mac and iPad - far quicker than Firefox these days. Added bonus is the split keyboard facility on the iPad.
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>> >>Our usage seems to be increasing lately
>>
>> Can you quantify that?
I've a ten gig/month limit which I'm bordering on. I used to use no more than 6-8.
One month I found SWMBO had four springwatch live cameras open. I don't know how she's getting these ads on yahoo mail, but I guess she's opened something without realising. I often find new windows and tabs open (usually shopping related) that she denies all knowledge.
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To get exceed that limit you have to be talking about significant downloading or streaming. It is difficult to believe that you could solve such a problem with an ad-blocker. Of course, you will save yourself irritation, but not internet usage.
You may find it helpful to set the machine to go into hibernation when it is not being used. This should prevent excessive internet usage when the machine has not got a person present.
It will give you the irritation of having to wait for the machine to resume each time you need it, but it might be worth it.
Or both have the habit of logging out, not shutting down, when you stop using it. That will kill all processes likely to be using the internet.
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I've downloaded chrome, installed adblocker plus and copied her favourites across. Let's see how that works.
Meanwhile I'll get on with comparing ISPs. I'm looking at retaining my BT line (annual rent paid in advance) with anytime landline calls. I can save a few pence by going elsewhere, but is it worth it for the hassle? Plenty of ISPs offering no limit, all at similar prices. Talk talk seem cheapest, but have a lousy reputation?
I tried an online chat with BT that kept dropping out. An Indian call centre then 'phoned me, but I couldn't understand her accent. They attempted to connect me elsewhere, but after listening to ring tone for ten minutes, with an occasional 'we value you as a customer' I gave up.
Looks like getting the MAC could be fun!
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>> I've downloaded chrome, installed adblocker plus and copied her favourites across. Let's see how that
>> works.
>>
>> Meanwhile I'll get on with comparing ISPs. I'm looking at retaining my BT line (annual
>> rent paid in advance) with anytime landline calls. I can save a few pence by
>> going elsewhere, but is it worth it for the hassle? Plenty of ISPs offering no
>> limit, all at similar prices. Talk talk seem cheapest, but have a lousy reputation?
>>
>> I tried an online chat with BT that kept dropping out. An Indian call centre
>> then 'phoned me, but I couldn't understand her accent. They attempted to connect me elsewhere,
>> but after listening to ring tone for ten minutes, with an occasional 'we value you
>> as a customer' I gave up.
>>
>> Looks like getting the MAC could be fun!
You'll not keep your BT line (with its annual rental paid in advance to BT) AND someone else's cheap internet. They mostly insist on line rental with them as well.
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bt - a while back I switched my aunt's service to TalkTalk to save quite a bit of money over Virgin, at the same time switching the phone from BT. It worked OK, but recently she moved to Lockerbie and TT declined to provide a service. (Her exchange, Boreland, has no LLU which might have been a factor although a house up the road on the same exchange has TT.)
However - we switched it to Plusnet, at a similar cost for IIRC 60GB/month and anytime phone calls - about £25 a month including line rental paid annually in advance. Should be cheaper for you on a Market 3 (deregulated) exchange. Plusnet resells BT Wholesale so you should see no change to service or speed, presumably?
Last edited by: Manatee on Sat 2 Feb 13 at 22:24
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BT has changed most of their tariffs to unlimited downloads. But you need to agree a new contract I would think. I'm on an unlimited tariff anyway. Also BT Cloud is available and if I agreed a new contract I'd get 50GB free storage.
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>>BT has changed most of their tariffs to unlimited downloads
Be careful of their "fair usage" limits. They may be lower than you think. Not particularly low for normal e-mail and web browsing users, but significant streaming can catch you out.
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+1 Chrome with Adblocker, Ghostery (web tracking blocker - 3 on this webpage) & Hola! Unblocker (so I can access BBC iPlayer from Spain)
Last edited by: lancara on Sun 3 Feb 13 at 10:50
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To quote the Irish countryman - "I wouldn't start from there".
Mrs. R, Mr. & Mrs.R and I all have Gmail accounts.
We rarely use the Gmail web-mail facility: instead we use Mozilla Thunderbird as our PC based email client.
It is very easy to configure Thunderbird to use Gmail's incoming and outgoing servers - it's completely free - to send and receive from Thunderbird.
This has the benefit of freeing up your browser, while leaving Thunderbird, minimised to the task bar set to check every X minutes for fresh mail.
Gmail's spam filters re the best in the business and I cannot remember the last time I received a spam mail.
You can set Gmail to leave all your emails on their servers so keeping a record off your machine.
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SR Ware Iron - Chrome without the spyware reporting back to Google.
Try Maxthon 3, it's not bad at all.
If Maxthon3 had the equivalent of FF's "Paste email" add-on, I'd probably use it as default, although I don't think Trusteer Rapport, banking protection, works on it.
I use "paste email" to store & enter passwords for logging on to sites like this.
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Choosing a new browser - rtj70
