How safe is usenet?

Hey!

I've been getting hassle from my parents and I'm having trouble explaining to them why Usenet is fairly safe. They seem to think men in black will come round and beat me till I give them £100 million because I download things from usenet. ;D

Can anyone give me a simple way of explaining to them how this won't happen? I've read up a bit and know the basics myself but struggle when I attempt to explain how it's safer than other downloading methods. I also have SSL from my usenet provider - that adds extra protection doesn't it? Anyways, my folks are reasonably up-to-date with technology....I just need something to put their minds at rest!

Any help much appreciated :)

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Also, almost all people are caught because they are "sharing" files. With usenet you aren't sharing.

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I've been getting hassle from my parents and I'm having trouble explaining to them why Usenet is fairly safe.

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Why don't you simply hide your usenet grabber ? :lol:
More seriously others have told you the main arguments :

- If you use SSL, nobody can know that you download, and what you download except your usenet provider.
- You're not forced to share on usenet to be able to download
- I don't know a people accused for usenet downloading. When anti piracy groups act, they do against providers and not customers (ex: usenet.com, a very bad provider by the way)

How safe is it? As safe as a condom (provided it doesnt break lol :lol:).

It's one of the most secure forms of downloading and with SSL its even better :D.

No more seeding to a ratio of 1:1 with crippling speeds :P