Noob's guide to usenet

I think the number one problem with usenet at the moment is that it seems far too daunting for new users. Even with guides, the massive amount of terminology and programs are a lot to take in, even for someone experienced in filesharing. I'll try to keep this guide as short and to the point as possible, so hopefully even a complete idiot can understand it :whistling

The three things you need to start using Newsgroups:

Newsgroup Provider
Client
Indexer

Newsgroup Provider:
Essentially a massive collection of servers that automagically download everything uploaded to usenet, and then allow you to download it from them. Three things to look for:
Retention: How long the files are kept the servers.
Connections: How many threads you can download from simultaneously. Usually 10 is good enough to max a home connection.
SSL/TLS: Whether they allow you to use an encrypted connection or not.

Some examples:
Astraweb, Frugal Usenet, Usenet.farm, etc.

Client:
Simply a program that provides a GUI and connects to the server so you can download your desired file from it. When you DL a file, it will come in RAR and PAR archives. RAR archives contain the files you want, and if they are incomplete (servers store 100(1000?)s of terabytes every day, somtimes they screw up), the PAR archives are used to repair them. The great thing about these programs is that they will automatically repair the files if need be, automatically extract them for you, and then delete the archives. Pretty neat, huh?

Most of the settings for different clients, so for the sake of brevity I'll let you play around with them. Some things to pay attention to would be the maximum download speed, and where you wish to have the files extracted to.

Finally, the most important thing is setting up your client to connect to a server (namely your provider). You will need to obtain the server address and the username and password that your newsgroup provider gives you. You will also want to specify a different port number if you wish to DL from SSL. Finally, you can specify the number of connections you want to use.

Some examples of clients:
SABnzbd, NZBGet, Grabit, Alt.binz, Newsbin

I personally recommend SABnzbd, it is very lightweight and free as well.

Indexer:
This is just where NZB files are indexed. The indexer just helps you find files, and technically you don't really need one, but to not use one is far more complicated and technical. There are two main types of indexers:

Auto Indexed
Sites such as NZBindex, Binsearch, and Supersearch are auto indexers. This means it automatically indexes everything posted on usenet, including the spam. Similar to public torrent sites, while the selection is far more extensive, there are always the spam, fake and dupe posts that you must watch out for.

User Indexed
Sites such as FST, NZBs.org, DOGnzb and nzb.su are user indexed. That means that actual users hand pick the NZB files that are verfied and legit, and index them on the site. Similar to private torrent sites, you can be assured the validity of the files. However, indexers are human and won't index everything, so you can't be assured the breadth and variety you would see on auto indexer.

Here is a collection of indexing sites: https://filesharingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=481416

NZB files
These are handy little files that have made it far easier to download from usenet. I'm not exactly sure of the technical aspects, but rest assured they have made usenet a far more user friendly experience. When you download from an indexing site, it'll create a .nzb file that will direct the client to the correct files, similar to a .torrent file. Just download the file, open it in you client, and voila! Your set and your client will begin downloading, easy as pie.

And now you're good to go! You know everything you need to know to start using usenet. :happy:

I didn't read it from start to finish but it looks good. Well done. :)

Stick it.

Certainly well done :yup:

That's a nice little guide that should give ppl a fast start.

Very well written, explains all the basics.
Wish I had something like this when I first started with usenet.

As an (again) newsgroups newbie, I must say this guide perfectly and clearly explains all the basics.
Good job.

thats a very good easy to follow guide i could of used that when i first started 3 years ago would of saved a lot of time googleing everything i wanted to know seems to be there

Thank you. It cleared many of my doubts regarding usenet. :)

In the early days I used newsgroups but I've never tried usenet - always felt kind of intimidated. This into has helped and I might try to give it a shot. Hopefully it won't be overwhelming - I understand that there's literally tons of stuff. Maybe that's why i feel intimidated - how to sort through it all to find what you're looking for. Any suggestions on that? Thanks....

Thank you so much for clearing some thoughts I have on using newsgroups, It has indeed been quite intimidating for me especially all those headers. haha i just get so confused. :) this has shed some light on the subject matter. :) Thanks Rart

Great guide - Just wish I had seen it a year ago when I started using usenet!

hello everyone. i am new here.. so please wouid like some help to some questions, if poss.

1..i want to start downloading films and music.. please tell me what are the best sites to do that from..
2..i want to get away from limewire. thats the only place i get my music from.so wouid be greatful if you can tell me best place to down load from.
sorry if i sound a little green. to all this but being new i know someone out there will be able to help..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wildgoose1uk

Great guide - Just wish I had seen it a year ago when I started using usenet!

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lol +1
good idea though,, useful, ty

Testimonial
I used this guide to get myself setup, of course it was a stepping stone to look at all the options out there. So thank you very much Rart!

By the way, my starting combo was
Giganews (provider)
Alt.binz (client)
NZBIndex (indexer)

And it's working out great so far

EDIT:
Since I've had some time with it, I've settled on Astraweb as my provider and usually use binsearch.info as my indexer. Have had no need yet to acquire a backup provider. Giganews was just too expensive for me.

Thanks for the guide bro, it's a nice breakdown and exactly what i needed for an overview.

Thanks. I was always curious what usenet was about.

Well done newsgroups are great if you know how to use them and this post has some really good information for new users.

This came in really handy...I was actually gonna ask if I couldn't find any info on this. Thx!

Nice guide, thanks!
Just wanted to mention - there are free news servers around that provide free access to the newsgroups. So, if one doesn't have a provider - do some search, and you are in busuness:)

Good info. I am totally new to newsgroups, so this helps alot.

If I d/l from newsgroups is that more secure? Is it it private, as opposed to d/l from Pirate Bay? Thx

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dmace1

If I d/l from newsgroups is that more secure? Is it it private, as opposed to d/l from Pirate Bay? Thx

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Usenet is much more secure than TPB in about every aspect.

Thank you. It cleared many of my doubts regarding usenet.

Well. i read your guide. but still i don't know how to burn to dvd. i download windows 7 in 3 different versions. The first file say: alt.binaries.b4e(windows 7 dream edition) 2.97 gb.- - - the second file alt. binaries.boneless2.6) GB. ....and the third Bie 7u861010.part46(incomplete)RAR....the fourth file is FILE MASTER ( empty) what i do with this .. when i download windows 7 home edition from a link, i just transfer to my dvd burner y zap..ready. please i need some advise, but step by step because i just start to learn about this.thank you.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by coludito

Well. i read your guide. but still i don't know how to burn to dvd. i download windows 7 in 3 different versions. The first file say: alt.binaries.b4e(windows 7 dream edition) 2.97 gb.- - - the second file alt. binaries.boneless2.6) GB. ....and the third Bie 7u861010.part46(incomplete)RAR....the fourth file is FILE MASTER ( empty) what i do with this .. when i download windows 7 home edition from a link, i just transfer to my dvd burner y zap..ready. please i need some advise, but step by step because i just start to learn about this.thank you.

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I am not exactly sure what you mean by you got 3 different version of Windows 7.

From what I gather, you've downloaded 3 different version of Windows 7 and don't know how to burn the disc...

If you have multiple RAR files, use WinRAR to unrar them. Then you can use an application such as ImgBurn to burn an image file (iso, bin etc...). If not, just burn the disc.

I'm glad I found this guide.

Thank you for all that information!
I seen more intelligent ... Thank you

Thanks for the info. Been using torrents for 6+ years & never really tried the newsgroup/nzb thing before. I'm giving Astraweb & NewsLeecher a try...seems to be working out pretty well.

Perfect and easy guide. It's really simple and i've read it while i was still just a guest but now it's time to thank you for this great effort

Thanks alot.

Yeah I agree, I just did made my first (successful) trial download from Usenet using another guide in the web,
but then I came here to see what more useful info I could find
and I read your guide, it really puts it all on perspective, so simple, thank you.

Thanks for this useful guide. I now know more about accessing newsgroups. :)
CHeers

Thanks. Info was very helpfull. I was already using newsgroups every now and then but I never actually knew about the differences in indexing sites.

very well content
thanks 4 sharing with us

GoodPostThank you

Very good post, I was really searching for this topic, as I wanted this topic to understand completely and it is also very rare in internet, that is why it was very difficult to understand. Thank you for sharing this

okay i have got myself Newsleecher 4 final
now i want to download something from FST NZBs
so i DLed the .nzb file and trued to start the Download but it shows some error

do i need to specify the server name, username, password?
if so what are they?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by funkysourav

do i need to specify the server name, username, password?
if so what are they?

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Of course you do. Your client won't know where to download the files from, otherwise.

For a test ride, you can use this on an NZB less than 10 days old. Then you can read the XS Usenet and Binload threads in this section to know about better free servers (Binload stopped accepting new registrations, however). There are also some other ones in the IPv6 Internet if you're willing to deal with tunnelbrokers and such.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by anon

Quote:

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Originally Posted by funkysourav

do i need to specify the server name, username, password?
if so what are they?

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Of course you do. Your client won't know where to download the files from, otherwise.

For a test ride, you can use this on an NZB less than 10 days old. Then you can read the XS Usenet and Binload threads in this section to know about better free servers (Binload stopped accepting new registrations, however). There are also some other ones in the IPv6 Internet if you're willing to deal with tunnelbrokers and such.

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Thanks, i am making do with XSusenet and Sabnzbd+ and FST combination
turns out that the file is 544 days old and has multiple missing articles
even though XSusenet claims 600 days+ retention (maybe just header retention)
so gonna get that from FLRO the traditional way
Newsgroups seem to be fun and painless if the posts are less than a year old, but not so much if older
are users allowed to post requests for specific NZBs?
p.s.
xsusenet is giving errors after some time and stopping the downloads for the free "Lifetime" accounts
so registered a new one and am continuing without problems

Quote:

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Originally Posted by funkysourav

Thanks, i am making do with XSusenet and Sabnzbd+ and FST combination
turns out that the file is 544 days old and has multiple missing articles
even though XSusenet claims 600 days+ retention (maybe just header retention)
so gonna get that from FLRO the traditional way

Newsgroups seem to be fun and painless if the posts are less than a year old, but not so much if older

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You get what you pay for. Paid servers retain files for much longer, can be over 1000 days from what I've read.

can i or anyone request a specific game/movie to be re-uploaded at FST NZBs?

read this :the-how-to-geek-guide-to-getting-started-with-usenet

http://www.howtogeek.com/71315/the-h...d-with-usenet/