Gigaflat - free usenet access

[enerdude]

http://www.gigaflat.com/signup.php Not sure how long they have been around but I stumbled upon their website while surfing the net.
Comparison of premium / free features

Features+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Premium Access++++++++Free access

Download anonymous, without signup, without logs
Yes
Yes


Usenet Downloader Software free
Yes
Yes


Max. Speed up to 50Mbit/s
Yes
No, Flatrate free ~512kbit/s (~64kbyte/s)


SSL encryption of all connections
Yes
Yes


Max. simultan connections
10 SSL encrypted
2


Flatrate / Downloadlimit per day
None
None, only Speedlimit


Time to wait before download is starting
None, instantly download
1 minute



Not great download speed for free users but I have done some further investigating and here are my findings:

Cons:

Slow download, but you can get 50Mbit+ speed if you upload a nzb that is not yet in their web directory
You have to use their crappy java download client. I did some sniffing and it does not seem to connect to a standard news server running on port 119 / 563 [SSL]. Instead it seems to connect via HTTPS [SSL] on port 443 so using your own news client does not seem possible
Limited content. They have a limited web directory. Chances are what you want is not there, so you have to upload the nzb of the item you want to download to their server first and then they publish it in their web site directory that is searchable (they email you with the link) before you can download it.
Limited retention. I have uploaded a nzb of 600 days which their server said was "too old", so you will have to experiment yourself to find their retention


Pros:

Free
You can get premium speed access [50 mbit+] for each nzb you upload (they email you a link in a couple of hours after uploading it).
I have found a way to bypass the 1 minute waiting period for free users and a way to share premium access with your friends. Just search the source of the page the download counter is on (or the premium download button for premium downloads) for "window.location.href='" You will see something like "gigaflat:30178739". Paste gigaflat:30178739 into you browser's url location (no http:// or anything in front) and it will launch their java client and start the download. In this case 30178739 is the download ticket id of a nzb called "Gossip Girl S05E15 720p WEB DL DD5 1 H 264 CtrlHD" that I have uploaded. This particular ID is premium and you should get premium speed if you try downloading it.

It is therefore possible to share ids with your friend for nzb's you uploaded and they will also have premium download speed (and vice versa).

Possibility of earning points by posting download links for items in their web directory to forums / blogs (e.g. http://www.gigaflat.com/tv/gossip-girl-s05e15-720p-web-dl-dd5-1-h-264-ctrlhd-4316580/515830/) In this case the "515830" is my referer id and I get points every time somebody click and downloads it. Points can then be swapped for e.g. a month's premium account.
I haven't tried it yet but technically it should be possible to run multiple instances of their java client by using different real or virtual (vmware) pcs to obtain more speed, each instance giving you an extra 512 kbit

[anon]

I recall trying this one, but their slow speeds and forced usage of a crappy client were major turndowns.

There was a program called oSpy that could hook on another process and decrypt SSL traffic, so if you're feeling adventurous...

[Stabber]

thanks but i will stick to binload and ipv6

[Cabalo]

Nice info you shared there.

[enerdude]

There was a program called oSpy that could hook on another process and decrypt SSL traffic, so if you're feeling adventurous...

Thanks had a look at OSpy - quite a handy program. Tested it on my internet banking page and I could intercept my username / password!
Analyzing gigaflat did not come to much - seems they are using their own protocol - upon launching the java client it downloads a special file from their webserver that is kind of a "special nzb file" but using their own protocol and content is transferred from their own server via port 443 [SSL] so using a normal news client is not going to be possible :(

[Hypatia]

Possibility of earning points by posting download links for items in their web directory to forums / blogs (e.g. http://www.gigaflat.com/tv/gossip-gi...316580/515830/) In this case the "515830" is my referer id and I get points every time somebody click and downloads it. Points can then be swapped for e.g. a month's premium account.


sounds kinda dangerous ..for them.. in terms of copyright mafia's entrapment