Newsdemon

[djkemp1]

i have just got the newsdemon provider and so far very good.

does anyone know much about them, are they good?

[zot]

NewsDemon resells both Newshosting and Highwinds service, offering a choice of 4 server farms, with the Ashburn, VA location being owned by Newshosting, which offers much longer retention (using NZBs) than Highwinds.

NewsDemon is not the cheapest provider around, but they're not too high-priced. Probably the best deal in unlimited service is Newshosting's $15/month plan, which has about 115 days retention using NZBs (though only 45 days worth of headers)

People suffering from an ISP that throttles NNTP traffic would do well to try UNS's encrypted service to restore full download speed.

People with ultra-high speed connections might find Giganews ideal, though it's more expensive, its quality of service is unmatched.

[gsorel]

They also accept paypal payment :rolleyes:

very good usenet provider

[djkemp1]

i pay £12.60 a month for unlimited on newsdemon, has anyone ever had problems with them at all or are they good and reliable?

i do have problems with isp throttling but seems to kick in about 4pm and lasts til about 1am (peak times i suppose) so i just download at night.

[Flinty]

Never had any problems with them. Once forgot my username and got a reply within 10 minutes.

[UsenetGuy]

I used to use them but I switched to another provider. It was good at first but I had very fluctuating speeds and the europe server was always giving the message authorization temporarily stalled or something like that so I switched to uswest but my speed were not that good (probably routing though) and I had to repair quite a few times using quickpar. The thing that annoyed was support, sometimes I would get a response that seemed like they hadnt even read my question!. Im now a happy GigaNews customer and havent had a single problem since i've been with them :D

[djkemp1]

sounds like newsdemon on the whole then is pretty good, i have had probs with speed but i think i have narrowed that down now to isp throttling

[djkemp1]

just another question, i heard somewhere that if a provider was based in usa then its not good. just found out thats where newsdemon is based. is this ok?

[zot]

NewsDemon is not a true newsgroup provider - they are a "virtual provider" or reseller, and through Newsdemon acting as a middleman, subscribers get access to "real" (back-end) providers Newshosting and Highwinds-Media.

Resellers handle the billing and tech support themselves (quality of tech support can vary greatly between providers) but your download is actually coming from Newshosting or Highwinds servers.

Considering that NewsDemon is more expensive than Newshosting or many Highwinds resellers, for the same number of connections, why do people get NewsDemon?

Newsdemon does offer a package of 20 connections, which is more than most NSPs offer, but I have a hard time believing that many people really need 20 connections. If that is really the case, then a request should be made to Newshosting to offer a 20-connection service. I bet they would give a better deal than Newsdemon, anyway.

Anyone needing a massive number of connections could even consider Astraweb's block accounts - which offer 50 connections (and more upon request)

Basic comparison of unlimited service:

Newshosting: 8 connections for $15/month, 110 day NZB retention (24/7 tech support)
Ngroups.net: 8 connections for $15/month, 80 day NZB retention (24/7 tech support) (uses Highwinds servers)
NewsDemon: 8 connections for $18/month, 110/80 day NZB retention (24/7 tech support)

NewsDemon uses the same NewsHosting backend servers which has about 110+ day retention using NZBs, and the same three Highwinds servers that Ngroups uses, which each have about 80 days retention. (BTW: Ngroups plans to be adding Newshosting servers)

I've seen a lot of people recommend Newsdemon, but unless you actually require all 20 connections (or for some reason need both Newshosting's as well as Highwinds servers at the same time) I say save your money and get NewsHosting directly.

[djkemp1]

thanks for the reply the problem i had was that i am based in uk and could only pay by debit card (not Visa) and the only service that was recomended and accepted these cards were newsdemon.

so do you know where there servers are based then?

[zot]

i am based in uk and could only pay by debit card (not Visa) and the only service that was recomended and accepted these cards were newsdemon.

At least at the retail level, any place that accepts credit cards will also accept debit cards. Using debit cards carries much higher risk than using a credit card, since the money is withdrawn directly from your bank account as soon as the charge is made. With a credit card, you at least have the protection of the credit card company as an intermediary in case there's a disputed charge that you refuse to pay.

I strongly recommend against using a debit card for online purchases.

Here in the US, you can buy prepaid credit cards at many shopping malls and grocery stores. It's probably the safest way of paying, since it's anonymous and a dishonest merchant can't possibly rip you off for any more than the balance left on the card. With a debit card, you can have your bank balance drained dry - with no way to get the money back. That's exactly how the infamous Nigerian 419 scam works - all the crooks need is your account details and then they empty your bank account and disappear.

There are many other payment methods you can set up if you don't have or can't get a credit card and are otherwise stuck using your high-risk debit card - Paypal being the most well known of online payment companies.

I know that Ngroups/Usenet-News accepts a variety of 3rd-party payment methods, including Paypal, E-Gold, and Moneybookers. Other NSPs may be similarly flexible regarding payment method. If not, it never hurts to request it if you have another provider in mind that you want to use. I think a lot of NSPs would offer alternative payment methods if people request it.

But if you are determined that you want to pay using a debit card, it's worth remembering that any newsgroup reseller (like NewsDemon) is going to tend to be a greater credit risk than a true backend provider (like NewsHosting) that has invested millions of dollars in hardware for its server farm, unlike a newsgroup reseller - a "virtual company" which can instantly set up shop with very little investment.

NewsDemon.com is registered by "Domains by Proxy". Personally, I'd be reluctant to open my bank account to a "ghost" company that refuses to even list its address and instead hides behind a proxy. (not that I have anything against proxies, I often use them myself when I intend to break the law - copyright law, that is) At least Newshosting (like virtually all backend providers) has a real address.


so do you know where there servers are based then?
Newsdemon is a reseller that gives you access to Highwinds and Newshosting's back-end server farms located in the USA (Arizona, New York, and Virginia) and Amsterdam.

[djkemp1]

but its not actually newsdemon that have access to it, as looking at it when you set it up its actually set up through Worldpay, and you agree on there how much is to go out each month, and if you want to cancel this you can to easily. so is this pretty safe with a debit card?

[zot]

WorldPay is a big and well-known credit-card processing company, and a customer is going through their site, so that is much safer than putting bank card details on some untrusted merchant's website.

Using Worldpay is really more like using other professional payment services like Paypal or Moneybookers - and these generally accept debit cards also - so you should be able to use your debit card with any merchant that goes through these third-party payment-processing companies.

Being limited to using a debit card, you probably have a much wider choice than just NewsDemon.

[mikeco]

They also accept paypal payment :rolleyes:

very good usenet provider

only reason im with them. :P

just got on my 6th month with them.

i wouldnt recommend them unless the person can only pay via paypal.
reason is the connections r ghey most of the time, can take upto 5min for all the connections to finaly connect, this is cos the servers r so dam busy, well thats what it says when it cant connect.
i just set up 4 connections x2, 4 per different port.
gives more chances of me getting connections. works fine.

the support is very nice i must admit.

they gheyed something up with my account dunno what realy happend.
but i said i couldnt connect and that i got error 502 and they just fixed it right away and told me to wait 5min for it to begin to work.
so just left it and began to download in around 5min.;)

[djkemp1]

cool yeah so as its through worldpay then its safe and secure and they can't just take out money??