Toonel

[Divum Draconis]

If you're using a pay as you go internet service or have limited bandwidth on your boat, Toonel is a program nice piece of freeware that allows you to compress your internet traffic.

 

So, if you're using pay as you go, you'll be able to save money (compression rates are 30-70%).

 

And with limited bandwith you can surf more.

 

About the program

 

• The purpose is not to speed up your internet connection, though with speeds around and below 56k it will increase the download/upload rate.
  
• As stated on the site, no information is stored on either your computer or the servers about your web browsing.
  
• The software uses SSH Tunnelling which is very secure
  
• It is easy to turn it off when viewing sites you're worried about others seeing (I'm not trying to be crude here)
  
• If you are doing transactions you are mostly likely using HTTPS (as opposed to HTTP), of which is not compressed and does not go through the Toonel.net servers unless explicitly told to do so by yourself.
  

 

Setting it up

 

I'll assume most users will be using a windows machine, so this is the platform my guide is aimed at.

 

The prerequisite of using this program on a windows machine is the JRE, it's quite common so you may already have it on your pc, if not, it's downloaded from http://www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp#win.

 

The link to the Toonel download page is http://www.toonel.net/downloads.html#generic

 

Once downloaded, make sure you know the location of the download, copy it to your desktop if you wish, then simply double click and it'll bring up a window.

 

You'll need to set up your web browser, the toonel.net site has given a tutorial on this, you can find here.

 

And you're set to go

 

NOTE - If you use vodaphone, this program is not needed as this type of service is built in.

Edited November 6, 2008 by Divum Draconis

[Chris J W]

I was going to hit the REPORT button as spam post, but I'll ask this question first to give you the benefit of the doubt ...

 

How can you advocate software you've never used? To quote you "I haven't personally tried this software so at the moment I can't give a tutorial on how to set it up, but if you do want to find out, post here or PM me and I'll make one up."

[Divum Draconis]

I'm sorry, I've looked into the site, read into it and don't see anything suspicious. I'm computer savvy and would spot anything that's off. I'll install it right now, even scan the program with my antivirus.

 

EDIT Downloaded program, no viruses

Edited November 6, 2008 by Divum Draconis

[Ange]

I was going to hit the REPORT button as spam post, but I'll ask this question first to give you the benefit of the doubt ...

 

How can you advocate software you've never used? To quote you "I haven't personally tried this software so at the moment I can't give a tutorial on how to set it up, but if you do want to find out, post here or PM me and I'll make one up."

 

I can vouch for this young man (he's my son). His wording may have set alarm bells ringing and you're right he does need to do some research, but his post was a genuine desire to help others on the forum.

[Chris J W]

In that case, please accept my apologies.

 

But, seriously, there's nothing to be gained by advocating something you've never actually used - otherwise we'd all be running on snake oil and wishes!

 

Edit to say - perhaps you may have been better off posting "I've seen this software, has anyone else used it? Does it work?"

Edited November 6, 2008 by Chris J W

[Divum Draconis]

Apology more than accepted, was my fault for not being clear, as you can see by my post count I haven't been on these forums for long. Seems like you guys have a problem with this sort of spam.

 

I'm going to start a tutorial staight away. A bit silly of me really because it's not overly simple to set up.

 

Edit - I shall remember that for future, thank you

Edited November 6, 2008 by Divum Draconis

[Chris J W]

It'll be interesting to see how your use, and the tutorial, progress then. Many folk here use 3G with capped bandwidth. Let us know how it goes.

[Ange]

In that case, please accept my apologies.

 

But, seriously, there's nothing to be gained by advocating something you've never actually used - otherwise we'd all be running on snake oil and wishes!

 

Not a problem - I totally understand your initial worries about his post. My son is busy typing so I'll let him respond to the technical side.

[Divum Draconis]

It'll be interesting to see how your use, and the tutorial, progress then. Many folk here use 3G with capped bandwidth. Let us know how it goes.

 

That's brill, 3G is exactly the sort of internet service Toonel.net is aimed at. And because it's java it'll work on most things (mobile phones, etc).

[johnandcharlie]

The site hasn't been updated for well over 2 years, so I'm a bit dubious. I could really do with a service like this, as I very rarely get a 3G signal on T-Mobile because I'm always in the wrong places.

[AlanJ]

Couple of things to note about using this kind of software:

1. Their site is acting as a proxy (middle-man) between you and the internet - it means they could see everything going through their servers should they wish

2. They don't improve your internet connection speed - they merely compress the information that you send to the internet and decompress it when it gets to their server; likewise for the return response. So depending on what you are uploading/downloading you may see zero performance improvement. Text is easily and highly compressable, ZIP files are not compressable at all so you would not gain anything.

 

Obviously 1. can be a concern if you're doing any financial transactions

 

I'm not trying to knock the suggestion, merely pointing out how they work so that those who chose to use it can see what it is that they are letting themselves in for.

[Chris Pink]

Vodafone have this type of compression built-in, it can be a right pain, especially if you want your images at the right quality or need to read the code.

 

Can only really be useful on very limited connections or metered bandwidth.

[stuart]

Technically, theres nothing wrong with this sort of application and I expect it will do what it says on the tin.

 

However, by using this software you are redirecting all your internet activity (web based email, web browsing etc.) through THEIR servers. They may record and/or use this info for what ever they may want.

[Divum Draconis]

The site hasn't been updated for well over 2 years, so I'm a bit dubious. I could really do with a service like this, as I very rarely get a 3G signal on T-Mobile because I'm always in the wrong places.

 

It may not have been updated, but the servers are still running, you can still use the program.

 

Couple of things to note about using this kind of software:

1. Their site is acting as a proxy (middle-man) between you and the internet - it means they could see everything going through their servers should they wish

2. They don't improve your internet connection speed - they merely compress the information that you send to the internet and decompress it when it gets to their server; likewise for the return response. So depending on what you are uploading/downloading you may see zero performance improvement. Text is easily and highly compressable, ZIP files are not compressable at all so you would not gain anything.

 

Obviously 1. can be a concern if you're doing any financial transactions

 

I'm not trying to knock the suggestion, merely pointing out how they work so that those who chose to use it can see what it is that they are letting themselves in for.

 

No wories, I should have made it more clear in the original post, but here's answers to your points

1. It's very simple to turn it off, you can just close the program and set back the options in IE. Also most transactions are done using HTTPS, which isn't compressed unless told to do so (doesn't really compress it as much as normal HTTP)

2. If you're using home broadband then no, it wont speed up your connection. However I have been told that 3G can be very slow sometimes, in these situations it will speed your connection up (the same if you're using 56k modem). Aside from that, the point of the program isn't to speed up your connection, it is to save money on a pay as you go service (because most services charge you by the download/upload amount), or if you have a capped broadband service (say 5gig) then you can surf longer.

 

It also has the option to lower the quality of JPGs and GIFs to further increase the amount you can download.

 

However, by using this software you are redirecting all your internet activity (web based email, web browsing etc.) through THEIR servers. They may record and/or use this info for what ever they may want.

 

The q&a on their site states:

 

Is there content caching involved in the technique?

 

No, there is no content caching either on client or on our tunnel servers.

 

No data is saved on either your computer or their servers, they use SSH tunnelling, and as I've stated before, if you're doing financial things, it'll most likely be encrypted using HTTPS, which is not compressed, and does not go through their servers unless explicitly told to do so. If you do financial stuff with normal HTTP, it's just as likely to be intercepted with or without Toonel.

 

Wow... so much oposition, I'm not trying to sell this thing, it's a good idea to save money and/or increase your time on the internet. It's just as easy to plant a keylogger on your computer to view everything you do rather than simply view your internet traffic, and if you're going on to a site which you don't want others to view, it's just as easy to turn it off.

 

EDIT - On reflection I figure you're just looking out for each other, I don't mind, it would be nicer if you could read the site more before posting negative points about the software.

Edited November 6, 2008 by Divum Draconis

[grahoom]

They may record and/or use this info for what ever they may want.

 

Well if the Government has it's way they will be doing just that very soon.

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-...ail-992268.html

[stuart]

Well if the Government has it's way they will be doing just that very soon.

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-...ail-992268.html

 

I expect they already do.

 

I've nothing against the program. I was simply pointing out that all the websites you visit *could* be recorded and used for marketing & research. I agree that if your using HTTPS connections theres much less chance of that being intercepted.

 

However, I'm sure we all access plenty of different forums - just like this one - and your password and username could be recorded by this third party.

 

I'm not being paranoid but you have no idea who, where or why they are running this service. If it was something you actually paid for or have an agreed licence in place (with privacy policy) at least thats some protection.

[Divum Draconis]

I expect they already do.

 

I've nothing against the program. I was simply pointing out that all the websites you visit *could* be recorded and used for marketing & research. I agree that if your using HTTPS connections there’s much less chance of that being intercepted.

 

However, I'm sure we all access plenty of different forums - just like this one - and your password and username could be recorded by this third party.

 

I'm not being paranoid but you have no idea who, where or why they are running this service. If it was something you actually paid for or have an agreed licence in place (with privacy policy) at least that’s some protection.

 

As stated on their website, no information is stored regarding your surfing. HTTPS does not go through their servers, please read my posts.

 

Well if the Government has it's way they will be doing just that very soon.

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-...ail-992268.html

 

That's a total infringement upon our rights to privacy, next they'll be opening our post to read it...

 

It's funny though; it's not exactly hard to encrypt your own data with top security strength encryption, and it wouldn't be hard for me to set up a form of proxy to stop them viewing my emails.

 

Although I don't need to, I have nothing to hide, I'd just do it out of principle, basically laughing in their face.

 

Unless they make that illegal too >.>

 

P.S. Sorry if you were reading this thread when I was editing, I got myself highly confused.

Edited November 6, 2008 by Divum Draconis

[grahoom]

It's funny though; it's not exacly hard to encrypt your own data with top security strength encryption, and it wouldn't be hard for me to set up a form of proxy to stop them viewing my emails.

 

the issue with this is that it will go between you and your ISP - so any traffic you send to your ISP will pass through their black box. So if the ISP's agree with it, then no matter what proxy you have your traffic will pass through the "black box" the government want in place.

 

Indeed Encrypting your data is possible, but the main issue here is that they are saying it's not the data they are after - more the communication channels - so email addresses you send data to, phone numbers you call, web-sites you visit....

[Chris J W]

And if the men in suits, sat at GCHQ, start seeing lots of encrypted data coming from someone ... they are going to want to know why ...

[Divum Draconis]

the issue with this is that it will go between you and your ISP - so any traffic you send to your ISP will pass through their black box. So if the ISP's agree with it, then no matter what proxy you have your traffic will pass through the "black box" the government want in place.

 

Indeed Encrypting your data is possible, but the main issue here is that they are saying it's not the data they are after - more the communication channels - so email addresses you send data to, phone numbers you call, web-sites you visit....

 

Ah I see, I don't really mind them seeing my email addresses I send to, in fact I don't really send that many emails, my main concern is them seeing the websites I surf (not that I have anything to hide).

 

I believe if you use proxy websites, they not only encrypt the websites, but the website URL's (uhhh, not sure if the encryption is client side or server side, if it's client side it would be impossible to figure out, if it server side it's posible if they put in the effort).

 

And if the men in suits, sat at GCHQ, start seeing lots of encrypted data coming from someone ... they are going to want to know why ...

 

Yeah I thought about that, I guess as long as I keep logs and records of my own activity, and obviously I don't do anything dodjy, I've got nothing to worry about. I'm happy to waste their time (even at the expense of my time) for the cause.

[grahoom]

Ah I see, I don't really mind them seeing my email addresses I send to, in fact I don't really send that many emails, my main concern is them seeing the websites I surf (not that I have anything to hide).

 

 

Besides your privacy?

[Chris J W]

Yeah I thought about that, I guess as long as I keep logs and records of my own activity, and obviously I don't do anything dodjy, I've got nothing to worry about. I'm happy to waste their time (even at the expense of my time) for the cause.

 

Until the Security services come crashing through the door in the dead of night ...

 

Anyroad - we're more than likely monitored for 'net and (mobile)phone usage more than any of us realise or the Government is prepared to actually admit.

[Scotty]

Is this the same as Google Accelerator?

http://webaccelerator.google.com/

 

It did seem to speed thinks up when I used it a while ago,

it seems to have gone now though so perhaps it wasn't very good after all

 

Or maybe this Toonel is different?

[stuart]

Is this the same as Google Accelerator?

http://webaccelerator.google.com/

 

It did seem to speed thinks up when I used it a while ago,

it seems to have gone now though so perhaps it wasn't very good after all

 

Or maybe this Toonel is different?

 

Yes, very similar.

[Divum Draconis]

Yes and no. The purpose of google accelerator was to speed up your broardband connection. It does this using various methods (including compression).

 

However, the main purpose of Toonel.net is not to speed up your connection. It is to save money on your pay as you go, or surf more on a capped broadband contract (e.g. 5gig limited).

 

Also the program is platform independend, so you can use it on your mobile/smartphone.

 

This program will speed your connection up if you have a slow rate (around 56k or less).