Is this a real Usenet download?

[Franklint]

Hi everyone,

Freshly registered member, after some quick advice. I really want to get a particular eBook. I've found a blog site that claims to offer Usenet links to the book, but each time I click one, I'm redirected to the Usenet homepage and asked to sign up (I've signed up for a trial Newsgroup subscription with Hitnews).

I won't include any links here, so as not to break the rules, but I'm just very confused about whether these links are legitimate or not. Could someone send me a PM to help out? Otherwise I'm just kind of floating in a sea of Usenet confusion :).

Cheers,
Franklint

[anon]

Freshly registered member, after some quick advice. I really want to get a particular eBook. I've found a blog site that claims to offer Usenet links to the book, but each time I click one, I'm redirected to the Usenet homepage and asked to sign up (I've signed up for a trial Newsgroup subscription with Hitnews).

There is no "Usenet homepage". You probably mean Usenet.nl, which is a well-documented scam. That's the typical method used to lure people, posting bogus links promising a high-speed download of anything you search for.

[DngrMs]

In general terms most valid usenet links will point to a file ending in .nzb - you download this, load it into your usenet downloader and it grabs the relevant parts.

So unless the links you find are .nzb files they're unlikely* to be the ones you want.

*very generally speaking because there are of course many exceptions but they probably don't apply here.

[s6h9i]

In addition to what others have suggested, just open the files in a sandbox if you're ever concerned. No changes permitted within will last when the sandbox closes.

[Franklint]

Thanks heaps for the responses, everyone - it seems that they weren't legitimate Usenet links at all, and they did indeed send me to usenet.nl. The only thing that keeps this confusing is that the entry on the blog responsible for the links listed a page number, and a file size - which suggests that there is, somewhere, a PDF version. Otherwise, where could the file size come from? Unless, of course, they made it up.

In any case, I guess I need to keep searching. Thanks again.

Cheers,
Franklint

[anon]

Otherwise, where could the file size come from?

A random number generator. :happy:

If you tell us which book you're seeking, we can look for legitimate downloads.

[DngrMs]

...we can look for legitimate downloads.

[Emphasis added]

Excellent. :shifty:

[ng4ever]

No it is not.


Stay away from viruses and malware unless you don't care.

[coreeons]

Try looking for repost of release, using a either a index or usenet search engine.

Some times with books, you can also find them in packs (groups of books, with the same subject or author).

If you are having a hard time finding it on usenet, you could also look at a private tracker site like MaM (MyAnonaMouse).

[Franklint]

If you tell us which book you're seeking, we can look for legitimate downloads.

Oh great, thanks anon! I'm after For Fukui's Sake: Two Years in Rural Japan (considering going there myself :)). There's a Kindle edition: http://www.amazon.com/For-Fukuis-Sake-years-ebook/dp/B005M9TF78

I couldn't find it on NZB search engines, so probably no dice. Any tips?

Cheers,
Franklint

[anon]

I found it on a obscure site. Just sent you the link through a fake warning (it's explained in the PM) :)

[MysticRiffs]

Thanks heaps for the responses, everyone - it seems that they weren't legitimate Usenet links at all, and they did indeed send me to usenet.nl. The only thing that keeps this confusing is that the entry on the blog responsible for the links listed a page number, and a file size - which suggests that there is, somewhere, a PDF version. Otherwise, where could the file size come from? Unless, of course, they made it up.

In any case, I guess I need to keep searching. Thanks again.

Cheers,
Franklint

Hmmmm... That actually sounds to me like what a lot of sites do with (or used to do with, I haven't seen it done for a while now, come to think of it) Binsearch. Is it possible that your results aren't actually fake, but instead merely pointing you to the correct place using usenet.nl, the exact same way other sites did with Binsearch? (Or still do, but I've forgotten which ones they are and no longer log in! lololololol)

The reason I ask is because you can read the header information and it will actually give you all the information you mention from that. I'd hate to see you ditch a potentially useful form of sourcing material is all, if it's only down to confusion of the issues.

Caveat - I could also be completely, utterly, and 100% money-back-guarantee wrong. :D I reckon it's worth checking out, if you like the way the site organises everything. If the layout doesn't make it easier for you to search... no point pursuing it.