If you are a follower of this blog and you are using mobile broadband, then you have probably wondered if you are suffering from the 3Connect or HUWAWEI Mobile Partner excessive logging and hard disk activity.

Well, no need to wonder any more. I have spent some time now making a new simple, easy to use monitoring tool for mobile broadband users, targeting the most popular mobile broadband connection clients core products, namely Birdstep EasyConnect and HUAWEI Mobile Parter. This will, among others, include mobile broadband clients from 3, Telenor, OiSTER, Telmore, Turkcell, t-mobile, Orange, m1, Movistar, Etisalat, O2, just to name a few.

The Mobile Broadband Logging Monitor tool will tell you if you are suffering from the excessive logging and hard disk activity, and it will show which files that are being written to and the amount of writes pr. minute, hour and workday (projected).

Furthermore, if there is a known solution to the logging problem for your particular software it will show you direct link to that solution.

In short, a simple tool for giving you insight on the problems and how to solve it! Here’s a nice picture:

Now, that was a nice picture, wasn’t it? :-)

Download the monitor software (from Microsoft CodePlex). The application is now Open Source (read more about what this means).

How to use
Follow the instructions on the screen. Let the tool monitor for more than 1 minute, as it calculates the changes pr. minute. So, you’ll see the numbers rising for the first minute, and then the numbers should stay relatively stable.

The technical stuff
Mobile Broadband Logging Monitor runs on Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7. You will download an installer, which in turn will install the software properly when run. The software has a very light “footprint” on your computer, is totally non-intrusive, and, of course, totally respects your privacy. It simply tells you if there is a problem, and, if possible, what you can do about it!

Release notes
1.2: Added support for MWConn (standard location) and user defined locations. (28th Dec. 2009)
1.1: Added support for newer editions of Birdstep Technology EasyConnect.
1.0: First edition. Hello mobile broadband users!

Yesterday, in the context of testing the Telenor “Mobilt Bredbånd” connection client, I also checked up on the latest version of 3's 3Connect. I’ve done that before, so what I saw came as quite a surprise.

As stated in the previous article about this issue, logging to LogFile.txt is still present but is also still possible to turn off.

But when I turned off the logging last night and ran the application with ProcessMonitor on, I saw that there was still a lot of access to the wilog.exe file (the 3Connect application). In other words, not only is the logging still there, but there’s also a new form of disk access. So, it’s more excessive on the hard disk use than ever.

What does this mean to you as a user? Well, it’s basically the same problem and consequences as the Telenor case: it means a lot of excessive use of your hard disk and therefore a performance hit on your computer. In other words, I'm worried by your hard disk, here...

The following Excel file shows output from ProcessMonitor while running 3Connect. One pane is shows output with logging on, the other with logging off (log Errors only). 2009-09-22 3Connect file access 2003.xls (2,81 mb)

This information has been forwarded to Birdstep Technology, creators of 3Connect for 3. 3Connect is based on Birdstep Technology's EasyConnect, which is also used by T-mobile, TMN and Turkcell. Therefore, I presume that these customers are experiencing the same problems as 3's customers.

(File I/O reproduced on two separate laptops, and ProcessMonitor output sanity checked by Björn Johansson.)

Live from Twitter on this subject:

There's been reported severe issues and incompatibilities when trying to use mobile broadband connection software with the new version of Apples operating system for Mac called Snow Leopard.

The error occurring is a hard (kernel) crash of the Apple Mac operating system. In other words, access to Internet using mobile broadband is impossible. The Mac system itself survives, and there are no reports of data loss. 

I have very little information so far, but affected connection clients reported until now are from Telenor (Sweden), 3 (Three) (UK) and O2 (UK).

I'm working on getting more info. Are you affected? Please let us know more in a comment below, and please provide:

* What you experience
* Mobile Broadband provider name (such as Three or Telenor)
* Country
* Operating system
* Computer type

[Update] Vodafone (UK) has problems as well.

[Update no. 2] Virgin (UK) also has problems.

I’ve just upgraded to 3Connect 2.0. It went pretty fast and without any problems. Here are some screen dumps that show my experience. Click the pictures for larger image... enjoy!

I clicked the .exe file to start the upgrade of the modem…

The upgrade software found my modem pretty fast…

A warning before continuing…

… two, even…

Here we go… upgrading…

Upgrade successful…

After update, I launch the 3Connect
update software on the modem…

Getting ready to install the 3Connect software…

Here we go again…

The 3Connect upgrade requires a restart…

Isn’t she pretty? :-)

As a paying customer, I’m glad that 3 chose to let me be able to close
the blinking commercial in the 3Connect program…

There’s the proof – I’m now on version 2.0!

Cheers! :-)

Then don’t click the upgrade link from within the 3Connect application.

This blog post is regarding the older versions of 3Connect.

I'm still running the old edition of the 3Connect application (v.1.0.0 BL 48). Don't ask why, I just havn't gotten around to update. Today, just out of curiosity, I clicked the "Vigtig information..."-notification from within my edition of 3Connect.

I noticed that the landing page opened after clicking the link looked much like it always had, giving me the possibility to download a 3Connect update. When I click the link, I start downloading the 3Connect_Update.exe and NOT the upgrade file for my modem that I'd find on fx. this page: http://www.tre.se/templates/Sporg3_03.aspx?id=27984

In other words, my suspicion is that I'm still getting the "old" update to 3Connect.

I clicked the link in the bottom of the application. 

The link sent me to a landing page that I suspect is wrong.

I have sent 3 a mail explaining my suspicion and this possible inconsistency so that they can fix the landing page. If you want to go to the correct upgrade pages, check out this blog post.

I have previously written about an issue regarding 3Connect and Flash v. 10. Older versions of 3Connect crashed and / or did not start up when combined with Adobe Flash v.10. “3” quickly issued an update to solve this problem.

The other day, however, a user on this blog asked me, if the update is genuine. This prompted me to check up on things, mainly the link to the page on “3”’s web site and the link location where from the update could be obtained.

It turned out that I couldn’t find the original page, so I chose to write the friendly people at 3 for some clarification. They quickly returned with an explenation, with two changes in comparison to the original update:

1. There’s a new page that explains (in Swedish) what to do to get an updated version of 3Connect. This page you can find here. On that page you’ll have to select which modem you have and then click “uppgraderingsfilen” to get the update. 

2. The update strategy and the content of the update has changed significantly. Instead of providing an update to the 3Connect software on your computer, the upgrade flashes your modem and injects the latest software on to it. That means that you have to be careful when selecting the upgrade above. If you’re in doubt, I suggest you contact “3”’s customer service. It’s not a good idea to flash your modem with the wrong software ;-)

The change in the update strategy has significant advantages: Should you ever need to install the software again from the modem, say, after a re-installation of your operting system on your computer, or if you’re moving to a new computer, the now Flash v.10 compatible 3Connect software will be installed.

This article was made in collaboration with the forthcoming representatives of “3” Sweden.

Update: If you're a UK customer, try to go here to get your 3Connect software: http://www.three.co.uk/Help_Support/Mobile_Broadband_Help 

I wrote this article with intent of explaining an alternative way to get online with your mobile broadband without using the 3Connect application. The motivaion behind this article is a comment by one of the users of this blog, Esben Pedersen, on one of my previous postings. That posting discussed the 3Connect logging issue. Even though there are in fact many solutions for this issue now, I still thought it might be good for you to know about this alternative as well.

Before you start
You might want to check if you are affected by the logging problem or not. I suggest you try out our new free Mobile Broadband Logging Monitor tool.

This article explains how you can go online without 3Connect, using the strategy Esben mentions. After, I’ll discuss a little about why this can be a good idea, and why it can be a bad idea. 

Before you continue, please note that the solution described is for techincal DIY people. You're on your own if you mess it up. 

When 3Connect is installed, a dial-up network connection is created on your computer. 3Connect connects and disconnects to the mobile network by using this dial-up network connection. To find it, go here:

Start –> Control panel –> Network connections

You’ll see a dial-up connection called “1.3G”.

If you press the green button in 3Connect, you’ll see that the dial-up connection switches from disconnected to connected:

Now, instead of using 3Connect, you’d actually be able to connect by just right clicking on the disconnected dial-up network connection, and choose Connect.

There’s actually not much more to it. Pretty easy, no? I can recommend for you to right-click and select properties as well, and then select “Show icon in notification area when connected”. This will give you as small icon in the “system tray”, near the clock in Windows.

Doesn’t work for you? There might be a reason for that. You see, this strategy has a vital flaw: It’s not possible (not for me at least) to get online as long as the sim-card in your mobile broadband dongle / stick is protected by a PIN code. So, to make this work, you have to turn off PIN code protection**. Now, for a cowboy like me that might be alright, but in general, that might not be the best idea. This brings us into the discussion of whether this is a good idea or not:

Pros:
* Lightweight (or, at least, lighter) access to mobile broadband. No need to start 3Connect (which also means that you will not be experiencing the logging issue if you havn’t fixed it yet).

Cons:
* You’ll miss out on pin code protection.
* (I presume) that you miss out on data usage statistics. Not a problem for me personally, because I do not have a upper data limit on my mobile broadband, but if you have, keeping track of data usage can save you from a severe penalty.
* You will not be able to receive or send sms messages.
* In general, whatever the 3Connect applications provides, you’ll miss out on.

Let me hear your comments!

** You can manage your pin code protection in 3Connect under Settings –> Manage PIN.

Last weekend I had the chance to continue the test the HUAWEI and PlayStation 3 that I began some time ago. Yeah, I know it took a little longer than promised, but since I've been travelling between Copenhagen and Madrid every second week or so, so my time has been very limited.

I plugged in the router and set up the wireless connection in the PlayStation. In a matter of minutes, I'm online and good to go. Here are my observations of overal use with mobile broadband:

• Last time I tried games with what I expect to have relatively minor data transfer needs. This time I wanted to get the feel of playing an intense action game that needs more data transfar and a good ping response. So I started GTA4 and joined a Deathmatch game under network play. It was a flawless game experience! 
• I start system update and a package was downloaded. Even though I suspect the package to be relatively small, I felt it was downloaded with good speed. 
• During Sunday I decide to test the download of a demo game from the PlayStation Store. I decide to download the demo of Motorstorm 2. It's around 695 MB. It takes me about 15-20 to download, which I think is very fair for mobile broadband. 

By pure coincidence I stumbled upon a web page which is contains security vulnerability reports from Secunia on the 3Connect software from Birdstep Technology.

It's good news to know, that the 3Connect software has no vulnerabilities :-)

Cheers!

For those of you who might be interested in seeing how the HUAWEI B970 is administered, Jesper and I dumped a few screens. The most basic stuff is set up by using a Wizard like guide, which makes it quite easy for everyone to use.

Large image of dial up settings (96,91 KB)

Large image of WLAN settings (71,67 KB)

Selected (but not tested) features:
* Port forwarding (if you host something)
* IP / MAC filters