internet dongle

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mijas bound
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internet dongle

Postby mijas bound » Mon Oct 13, 2008 3:05 pm

is this possible?

we will be coming over to Spain for a longish holiday next year and want internet access via my laptop.
if i buy a pay as you go dongle from one of the UK mobile companies:

1. will it work ok in Spain
2. can i just use it "as and when" or do i have to top up by a certain amount each month

i won t be using it at home because we have broadband so would just use it for a maximum of 2 months a year.

Many thanks in advance Mijas
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chrissiehope
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Re: internet dongle

Postby chrissiehope » Mon Oct 13, 2008 9:46 pm

I personally would buy a dongle in Spain ! One from the UK will incur enormous charges, and our Spanish vodafone PAYG USB modem cost 69 euros. You can top it up in one of three plans (can't remember exactly, but about 19, 39 & 59 euros for different download limits) - these last 3 months.

There have been a few threads on this or similar subjects recently - might be worth you having a look !

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surfjabroni
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Re: internet dongle

Postby surfjabroni » Mon Oct 13, 2008 11:18 pm

before you buy the dongle in spain, get to your residence and see if there are any unsecured wifi signals that your laptop picks up :P

mijas bound
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Re: internet dongle

Postby mijas bound » Tue Oct 14, 2008 7:47 am

Thanks for the replies,

Chris, i did a search but could nt find anything that matched my criteria,
with the vodafone modem that you describe, can i top it up when in Spain and then not use it for months on end?
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chrissiehope
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Re: internet dongle

Postby chrissiehope » Tue Oct 14, 2008 8:53 am

As I understand it, you have to keep your SIM card topped up every three months, which you can do online (I do it from my Spanish bank account) - just 5 euros will keep it going.

There is some confusion about getting the internet credit topped up - we were told in the shop that you have to go to a vodafone shop to get this credit, but another forum member said they topped up their SIM credit online, and then sent a text message to vodafone, who then transferred it to their internet credit. We bought our dongle just before we left Spain on our last trip, so haven't had the chance to check this in a vodafone shop yet !

Apart from trying to get unsecured access to someone elses wifi, it is a good idea to check you can actually get a vodafone signal at the place you're going to be staying ! Movistar also do a PAYG dongle but it was dearer than vodafone, and I understand that Orange also do one (but we can't get their signal at all !).

These are 3g dongles, but if you can't get a 3g signal, it reverts to something called GPRS which is a slower connection, but we found it OK for checking emails & my son's facebook !!

This is one thread about modems:
http://www.andalucia.com/forums/viewtop ... em#p147477

Hope this makes sense, and is of some help

Cheers,
Chris
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Re: internet dongle

Postby mijas bound » Tue Oct 14, 2008 9:08 am

Thanks again Chris,
does the dongle work ok with programmes like "Skype" as i don't want to pay for a permanent phone and again, only use it for 2 months of the year.

are there any providers that offer broadband (fixed) that you can use only as you need it, we are coming over to buy a house and will probably only be there for 2 months so want to keep the bills to a minimum.

Thanks Mijas
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pigs-might-fly
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Re: internet dongle

Postby pigs-might-fly » Tue Oct 14, 2008 9:56 am

surfjabroni wrote:before you buy the dongle in spain, get to your residence and see if there are any unsecured wifi signals that your laptop picks up :P
Stealing other peoples wi-fi internet connections is a criminal offence!
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chrissiehope
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Re: internet dongle

Postby chrissiehope » Tue Oct 14, 2008 10:04 am

Sorry mijas, I've no idea if the dongle works with Skype ! As I said, we only bought ours just before we left (took ages to find a shop that had them in stock !), and only had time to set it up & check our emails.

Another option worth looking into is one of the roaming companies such as http://www.net2roam.com/en/ (tho this is dial-up rather than broadband) - you can speed up the connection using http://www.onspeed.com/en/.

I did a quick google for 'broadband roaming' and came up with this very useful page: http://www.broadbandchoices.co.uk/broad ... xpert.html - it seems that you might have to pay extra for Skype....

I don't know if you can do this, but the dongle has a SIM card - perhaps you could stick it in a spare handset to make local calls ?

Some food for thought, anyway !

Cheers,
Chris
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Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend.
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Re: internet dongle

Postby mijas bound » Tue Oct 14, 2008 10:18 am

Thanks Chris, i'll check those websites out
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Re: internet dongle

Postby gerryh » Tue Oct 14, 2008 12:21 pm

chrissiehope wrote:Sorry mijas, I've no idea if the dongle works with Skype ! As I said, we only bought ours just before we left (took ages to find a shop that had them in stock !), and only had time to set it up & check our emails.
Chris
Skype can be used with a 3G USB modem PROVIDED you can get a 3G signal.
If you can only get a GPRS signal then forget it, speach breaks up.
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surfjabroni
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Re: internet dongle

Postby surfjabroni » Tue Oct 14, 2008 12:47 pm

is using an unsecured WIFI signal a criminal offence? Has anyone gone to prison for this? Someone please clarify. Most laptops these days pop up with an icon saying something like... wireless signal available, do you want to connect? C'mon folks, most of you have done it at some point, admit it! :wink:
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pigs-might-fly
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Re: internet dongle

Postby pigs-might-fly » Tue Oct 14, 2008 3:59 pm

Location: The Dukeries.

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Re: internet dongle

Postby pete_l » Tue Oct 14, 2008 4:01 pm

gerryh wrote:Skype can be used with a 3G USB modem PROVIDED you can get a 3G signal.
If you can only get a GPRS signal then forget it, speach breaks up.
Also, don't forget that with a 3G PAYG internet connection you pay for the amount of data that goes
through your dongle. That means that even if someone Skype's you, that data will go through your
dongle and will be charged to your account. Even though you haven't initiated the call, you'll still pay.

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pigs-might-fly
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Re: internet dongle

Postby pigs-might-fly » Tue Oct 14, 2008 4:22 pm

Anyone who does not fully secure his/her wireless connection is asking for parasites to leech on to their broadband.

Consider:- You have an unsecured wi-fi connection and a "wardriver" (Google it), finds the connection and using it, downloads child p*o*r*n, for instance.

Whose IP is logged - YOURS! :oops:

So:-
Do this:-
Change the default router supplied network name to your own unique one.
Disable wireless configuration of your router settings. i.e. you must then use a cable connection, PC to router, to do this.
Change the user name & password used to access the router, to your own, unique ones.
Enable the router's built in firewall, if not already done so by default. Set it to block anonymous WAN (Internet) requests. You are then "stealthed"
Change the default (weak) encryption WEP to WPA2. At the same time use at least a 28 character alpha-numeric access code, which is then encrypted using WPA2.
Disable the SSID broadcast. (Station identifier broadcast by your router to the world). This will only fool casual drive by leeches - the really nasty ones will have the hard & software to see your "invisible" network.
Set the router only to connect to your PC's MAC address.
Install a good software firewall - there are some good free ones out there! (Online Armor, (free) or Comodo - both come with built in HIPS)
Install a good anti-virus program - there are some good free ones out there, too.(Avira, Avast!, AVG)
Install a HIPS program if your firewall does not incorporate one - Try Threatfire (free).

I have ALL of these implemented as all my banking is on-line!

Relax and wave two (or one) finger/s at the bludgers who want to steal your paid-for ADSL connection.
Location: The Dukeries.

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surfjabroni
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Re: internet dongle

Postby surfjabroni » Tue Oct 14, 2008 5:20 pm

yes, as above secure it. If you live in a town flat for example anyone who is a neighbour is likely to be in range to pick up your signal.
a bad day in the water beats a good day in the office.... nos vemos en la cresta.. xx andy

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Re: internet dongle

Postby karandjon » Tue Oct 14, 2008 7:55 pm

mijas bound wrote:are there any providers that offer broadband (fixed) that you can use only as you need it, we are coming over to buy a house and will probably only be there for 2 months so want to keep the bills to a minimum.
Movistar offers a PAYG dongle package, where you can pay for your usage, as and when.
for example, if you want to use 10mb a day, for 6 days in the 2 months you are here, you would pay €18 plus iva, all in. If you dont use for the mext 10 months, you do not need to keep topped up (as there isnt anything to top up).you literally pay as you go. €3+iva for each 10Mb you use in one day.

Karen
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Re: internet dongle

Postby Grouser » Thu Oct 16, 2008 11:23 am

Does the movistar dongle come with its own sim card or do you need to use one from a phone?
Do you know the cost of buying the dongle?
Thanks
Grouser

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Re: internet dongle

Postby robperrie » Thu Oct 16, 2008 4:46 pm

Karen,,,what happens if you go over the 10mb a day

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karandjon
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Re: internet dongle

Postby karandjon » Thu Oct 16, 2008 5:14 pm

hi grouser and rob perrie....

grouser.... the dongle at the moment is €69 (for the best one, the white one) It came with a sim in mine, over a year ago now, and i started on a PAYG with it, then upgraded to a monthly contract as i was so pleased with it.

robperrie...you can go over the 10Mb a day by quite a bit. you just pay €3 for every additional 10Mb you go over (or €1 on PAYG contract).
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Re: internet dongle

Postby BENIDORM » Thu Oct 16, 2008 5:16 pm

I trailed around the telephone shops in Loja, looking for a suitable Payg dongle package, but ended up with a new Movistar phone ( Sony Ericson), on an 18 month contract,at 9 euros per month, with a 1 Euro per day internet connection, only charged when I use it.It works ok, but a little slow at times.
I don't know if I've got a good deal or not, I'll let you know when I get a bank statement.My old Spanish phone functions ok , but is 10 years old, so I was happy to get a new phone.
Have I done ok.? Please , anyone, let me know. :?

Regards,
Gordon


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