Akamai.net use much of my broadband-qouta, dirty and unnecessary?

[llarsx]

Monitoring data use from a wireless broadband provider I find akamai.net which on my HP laptop use about 25 % of the total data use from the laptop (no downloading incl. during the test). I also find akamai.net on my ipad and there the consumption is about 15 %. I think the difference is because I always empty traces on my computer when I close IE or firefox, but not on the ipad. Therefore less can be loaded on the ipad when I visit earlier visited pages. My Huawei mobil don't use akamai.net.

Together with my wifes ipad the total use of akamai.net will be about 0,5 GB per day.

I had an intention to have 50 GB a month on my New Broadband, but reconsider that.

I have googled and found this
How to Completely Remove Akamai Netsession Client on Windows 10

1. Do I need akamai.net? (I do mostly reading newspapers (local), visiting forums and googling).
2. How to get rid of akamai.net on ipad? (reading local newspapers and other local apps/stuff).
3. Is the methods to get rid of akamai.net mentioned in the link, something you would advise me to do?

Hope for help!

 

[pozzello]

Akamai netsessions client is a download helper of sorts, that may pre-cache content it thinks you will be needing so as to enhance the experience when you do your browsing.
There's nothing evil about the app itself, but obviously aggressive pre-caching can seem like waste of resources if you look at it that way... Feel free to remove it in any normal fashion if you don't like it's behavior. It gets installed when downloading certain content that is flagged by the content-provider (Akamai customer) as requiring/wanting to use the Netsessions functionality. Disclaimer: I work at Akamai, but not specifically involved with the Netsessions/akamai.net client app...

edit: asked around a bit. NetSessions client app is EOL. Very few of our customers still use it. Also, it has some P2P capabilities, depending on how content-providers configure it which may explain any uploads bandwidth consumed. It's invoked via Javascript in the content.

 

[llarsx]

Part of my problem is that I can't find akamai.net in my computer spite akamai.net use 25 % of my data comsumption. I knew it use data because I have an asus 68u router where the statistics show it has been used, look at the picture. I have searched for akamai everywhere on my computer, tried registry and all, but no result. It may be hidden under another name?

 

[pozzello]

I did find this public-facing documentation:
NetSession Interface Overview | Media Delivery Solutions | Akamai
and the FAQ at
NetSession Interface Software Delivery FAQ | Akamai
has some instructions on finding the control panel and/or removing the app...

hope that helps.

 

[llarsx]

No, nothing found either session, aka or simular. One idea, could it be asus router has added akamai.net?

 

[alastairstevenson]

I have searched for akamai everywhere on my computer, tried registry and all, but no result. It may be hidden under another name?

Maybe it's from scripting within web pages of sites you often visit.
A bit of network capture would confirm that.

 

[pozzello]

yes, it's use (akamai's download manager aka "netsessions") is invoked by Javascript in the content download page, but first has to be installed as an app requiring user acknowlegement, etc...

that said, a good portion of the world's internet traffic is delivered over Akamai's caching servers, which may explain why you see akamai.net as an often accessed domain...
Our customer's domain's are CNAME'd to Akamai edge servers via DNS.

 

[llarsx]

Nothing akamai og netsession in weblog, but the only possible may be: 7.tlu.dl.delivery.mp.microsoft.com (several starting, 3, 5 etc.) and
a-ring-fallback.msedge.net and a-ring.msedge.net.

 

[alastairstevenson]

a good portion of the world's internet traffic is delivered over Akamai's caching servers

Yes, that's where I was coming from.
That doesn't require an app.

 

[llarsx]

Thanks pozzello. "Our customer's domain's are CNAME'd to Akamai edge servers via DNS." Does it mean that I can't find any akamai.net in my computer?

CNAME'd - do you mean that a newpapers name is renamed to akamai.net in the asus weblog

 

[llarsx]

What will happen if I Block akamai.net in IE and Firefox?

 

[bp2008]

What will happen if I Block akamai.net in IE and Firefox?

Assuming you were successful, you would just be breaking a significant percentage of the internet for yourself.

Akamai is not some rogue service that is misusing your internet connection. Akamai is a content delivery network. Many different websites host some or all of their content there, so it is completely understandable for there to be a lot of Akamai traffic in anyone's router logs any time in the last 20 years or so.

 

[pozzello]

I think you may be conflating 'akamai.net' the top level domain that content appears to be coming from with Akamai's Netsession (download manager) client app.
By all means find and remove the app from your devices if you like. if you browse content that requires it, it'll be re-installed (with your [permission)...

As you know a web page is generally composed of a bunch of different bits of info (or objects) that all must be downloaded and rendered in your browser.
DNS is what translates the hostname to an ip address of where to get these objects. Cname's are like aliases for domain names. It's like a chain of things to translate that results (eventually) in a specific IP address to go to to ask for the content.

If you block any access to akamai.net top level domain, you may well block access to maybe 30% of the internet. We have lots of big customers...

 

[llarsx]

Thanks bp2008,
In other Words, if I get rid of akamai, the traffic data from/to my computer statistics would rather rise, not be lower as the traffic may use slower/other way to/from.

 

[bp2008]

No @llarsx your bandwidth usage wouldn't rise. You would just be blocking a significant percentage of the internet, basically at random, resulting in a lot of web sites that would load incompletely or not at all. If anything, your bandwidth usage would go down.

 

[bp2008]

When you look at the Akamai.net line in your traffic log, just think of that as "miscellaneous web page content" because that is what it is.

 

[llarsx]

Thanks, I learn a lot here. Akamai.net is so big and be something the new Security pact GDPR should look into. I give up and keep it.

 

[pozzello]

right. sorry to have confused things by bringing up the DLM client app, as it first sounded like that's what the OP was asking about.

The issue of "why does all this content appear to come from Akamai" is just a side-effect of what we do.

 

[llarsx]

right. sorry to have confused things by bringing up the DLM client app, as it first sounded like that's what the OP was asking about.

The issue of "why does all this content appear to come from Akamai" is just a side-effect of what we do.

Thanks for all info.

GDPR has been solved in akamai.net

Akamai´s take on GDPR | Eastlane Consulting