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A GUIDE TO NEWSGROUP
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kidyugi1
Junior Member
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4. January 2007 @ 07:41 |
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Getting Started With Newsreaders
What are Usenet newsgroups?
They have been described in many ways but simply -- are discussion groups on the Internet organized by subject matter. MP3, hobbies, sports, (and yes, even pornography) are some of the subjects of many newsgroups. Users in a newsgroup participate in discussions by posting messages for others to read, and responding to the messages posted by others. Although not the original intention of Usenet, posts can also consist of software, music, and pictures freely available for downloading. Currently there are over 100,000 newsgroup available and new groups are added every day.
When did Usenet begin?
Usenet began in 1979, shortly after the release of Version 7 Unix with UUCP (Unix to Unix CoPy: protocol used for the store-and-forward exchange of Usenet News and other files). Duke University graduate students Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis thought of linking computers together to exchange information with the Unix community. Steve Bellovin, a graduate student at the University of North Carolina, put together the first version of the news software using shell scripts and installed it on the first two sites: "unc" and "duke." At the beginning of 1980 the network consisted of those two sites and "phs" (another machine at Duke), and was displayed at the January Usenix conference. Steve Bellovin later developed the scripts into C programs, but they were never released beyond "unc" and "duke." Steve Daniel did another implementation in C for public distribution as well. Tom Truscott made further modifications, and this became the "A" news release.
How do you get connected to newsgroups?
There are pretty much two ways to access newsgroups -- a) using a "web browser" or b) use of a "newsreader" software. As with most any software nowadays, there are free newsreaders as well as paid versions. See "Recommended Newsreader Software" for links directly to developers of news readers, short descriptions of each application, and links to webbased newsreaders.
If you're using a newsreader to access newsgroups, the newsreader makes its connection by means of the Network News Transport Protocol (NNTP). I wouldn't worry too much now about the protocol now as it's not required to start using newsgroups. If you would like to know more about NNTP see the NNTP Protocol Overview and RFC977
Once you have newsreader software installed on your computer, you'll need to configure it to connect to a Usenet server. The steps below are not specific to any one newsreader application or operating system, but should be enough to get you configured, connected, and using newsgroups:
1. Start your newsreader application you've installed
2. A "wizard" screen may appear asking you to configure a news server. If it did, you're golden! Skip to step 4
3. If no wizard screen appeared, find the "help" menubar selection on the application, or check the "support" section of the developers website.
4. The most important section to fill out is "server" (aka NNTP server, news server). If you need access to a newsgroup service, I recommend Newsleecher
5. The "username" (aka login) and "password" boxes are usually only required if you connect to a a newsgroup server outside the network of your ISP. Also, the "from", "email", "name" may need to be completed but that information can be real or made up.
6. Now tell the newsreader to connect to the newsserver. From there it should download the current list of available newsgroups (getting an error? see next section "Having trouble getting connected to a Usenet server?")
7. Once the complete list of groups are downloaded, you should be able to do a keyword search based on the type of newsgroup you're interested in. To find a group, open it and the list of posts will download and appear onscreen.
8. Double-click on a post -- now you're reading newsgroups!
Having trouble getting connected to a Usenet server?
A few common errors can appear when trying to connect to a newsserver. See below for possible resolutions:
"480 error" - usually indicates your newsreader application is not sending the username and password when asked by the news server. Check your settings/preferences within your newsreader to ensure they are entered and/or configured to authenticate to server.
"502 authentication" - username and/or password is misspelled; ensure you hand-type in the information -- do not copy/paste as extra spaces may cause authentication errors.
"host not found" - the server you typed in is misspelled, or you copy/pasted the name -- try hand-typing in the name of the server (usually starts with "NEWS.somedomain.com").
"could not connect to server" - something may be blocking access via port 119 (the port most newsreaders/Usenet servers are configured to use). If applicable, check your firewall/proxy software configuration and ensure port 119 is allowed. If you're at work, most likely your administrator has blocked the port; but it's not an issue as you can still access the newsgroups via a web browser
Recommended Newsreader Software
Free software : Paid (commercial) software : Web based
Free Newsreaders
The first question potential users of newsgroups usually ask is what is the best newsreader to use. I always recommend freeware newsgroup readers as these applications are usually user-friendly and self-explanatory.
Once you get a newsreader application, I highly recommend using my current provider at Newsgroup-Binaries.com as they allow access from anywhere you can get Internet access, and all the newsreaders listed below can be used with this service. I've compiled a list below of currently available newsreader applications:
Agent (Forte, Inc - Windows) arguably the most popular newsreader. Supports yEnc and SMTP authentication. Has both paid and free (Free Agent) version.
Alexandra (Object Factory - NextStep) written for an operating system that was purchased by Apple.
Getbinnews (Frederic Bricout - *nix) adware application that will extract multi-part binary files (mp3, jpg, gif, mpg, asf, AVI, DivX) encoded with MIME, UUencode or yEnc format.
Gigi's Own Newsreader (SourceForge - Windows) simple and intuitive multithreaded offline NNTP Client for the .NET platform totally written in C#.
GrabIt (Ilan Shemes - Windows) Application for selecting, downloading and the decoding of binary attachments in posts.
Halime (Imdat Solak - MacOSX) public domain newsreader no longer being developed, but is still freely available for download.
MicroPlanet Gravity (was MicroPlanet, Inc.; now SourceForge.net- Windows) recently converted from freeware to open source. Another popular newsreader created back in 1996 with numerous ways to adjust the screens.
Microsoft Outlook Express (Microsoft Corp - Windows) included as part of the download of Internet Explorer. If you have it installed, it's usually under the IE menubar "tools/mail and news/read news. User friendly; has wizard for configuration but does not decode yEnc.
MT-NewsWatcher (Simon Fraser- MacOS) easy to use filtering, searching and sorting features. Viewing and saving binaries from newsgroups easy, and works transparently across multiple news servers. Also available in French.
News Xpress (Ken Ng - Windows) although no longer be updated, another easy to use news reader.
NewsEngine (SourceForge - *nix) news reading program written in Java.
newsgrab (SourceForge - *nix) shell program to downloaded encoded multipart binaries.
NewsMole (SourceForge - Linux) perl newsreader supporting multiple newsservers, yEnc and assembles multipart messages.
NewsPro (NewsPro - Windows) newsreader better suited to veterans of Usenet. Powerful but reading of directions is important. Free and paid versions available.
NewsWatcher-X (Electric Fish - MacOSX) "carbonized" version of MT-NewsWatcher.
nget (SourceForge - POSIX, Windows, MacOSX) command line NNTP file downloader. Automatically joins multipart postings for easy retrieval, even substituting parts from multiple servers and newsgroups.
OSXnews (SourceForge - MacOSX) open source news reader developed in Objective C and Cocoa.
Pan (Public - *nix, MacOSX, Windows) supports yEnc binary encoding, offline newsreading, and article filtering.
PCast (Right Click - Windows) uses newsgroups to find pictures and download them.
PicMonger (SourceForge - Linux) scans available posts for UUencoded or MIME base64-encoded binaries (e.g. JPEG image). When a binary is found, it is automatically decoded back to its original form.
Power-Grab (SourceForge - Windows) 32-bit windows application that allows you to download files from a news server.
QNNTPGet (SourceForge - Linux) Python program for downloading multipart binaries from newsservers.
slrn (SourceForge - *nix, OS2, MacOS, VMS, Windows, BeOS) scoring rules to highlight, sort or kill articles based on information from their header. Offline reading is possible.
Tin (Public - *nix) threaded NNTP and spool-based Usenet newsreader.
WinVN (Mark Riordan - Windows) one of the first newsreader applications developed. Can also send email via the SMTP or MAPI protocols.
Xnews (Luu Tran - Windows) A little trickier to use, but powerful. Supports yEnc and multi-server configurations.
yanoff (SourceForge - PalmOS) allows NNTP downloading of news articles, posting articles and scoring.
Yencee (SourceForge - POSIX) command line program for posting binary files to newsgroups, using the yEnc encoding.
Commercial Newsreaders
These newsreader applications tend to have more features, especially for *binaries* downloaders who need flexibility, automated downloading and speed to get the most out of Usenet.
Agent (Forte, Inc - Windows) arguably the most popular newsreader. Supports yEnc and SMTP authentication. Has both paid and free (Free Agent) version.
AutoPix (Browing & Assoc. - Windows) automated NNTP downloader/decoder/previewer.
BinaryBoy (BinaryBoy - Windows) useful for downloading pictures, MP3, and software. Can decode yEnc, BommaNews, Base64, Quoted-Printable, UUencoding and QP Lite. Recently added NZB support.
Express NewsPictures (ExpressSoft - Windows) tool for downloading and viewing pictures, audio, and video from newsgroups.
GroupsAloud (NextUp Tech. - Windows) unique news reader that has ability to speak Usenet postings aloud.
Hogwasher (Asar - MacOS) offline and online newsreader capable of connecting to multiple news servers.
MacSoup (Stefan Haller - MacOS) offline reader for Usenet newsgroups and Internet e-mail. Better suited to users already comfortable with newsgroups.
MaxNews (MAX Programming, LLC- MacOSX) Usenet newsreader supporting reading and composing both news articles and e-mail messages.
News File Grabber (rsbr Software - Windows) lets you download all kinds of binary files (photos, movies, pictures, and sounds). Supports many coding schemes (including yEnc) and can combine multi-part posts.
News Rover (S & H Computer Systems - Windows) automates the process of decoding file attachments and reconstructing those files split across multiple posts.
Newpicture Miner (MyMiner.com - Windows) search and download pictures from newsgroups.
NewsBin (DJI Interprises - Windows) application specifically geared toward automated binary newsgroup batch downloading. Supports yEnc and multi-part binary decoding.
Newsgroups Pictures Downloader (Keronsoft - Windows) downloads and presents images from the picture newsgroups.
NewsPro (NewsPro - Windows) newsreader better suited to veterans of Usenet. Powerful but reading of directions for usage important. Free and paid versions available.
NewsReactor (DaanSystems - Windows) tool to download binaries from Usenet newsgroups. Progam is shareware and can be used 50 times before having to register.
NewsShark (WMHSoft -Windows) developed to download large binary files from Usenet. Has trial version.
Ozum (OzInsight - Windows) fully programmable news robot and freeware autoposter.
Picture Patrol (Brainchild Software - MacOSX, Windows) designed to download pictures from Usenet newsgroups.
Pluckit (The DeKaf Co. - Windows) automatically searches newsgroups for binary attachments (pictures, MP3, exe, MPG, AVI, RAR, ZIP, etc.).
SBNews News Robot (SBSoftware - Windows) award-winning program for automated downloading of information from binary newsgroups. Has anti-spam features and fully automatic unattended operation. Works with all types of binary files, including images (jpeg/gif/bmp), archives, movies, sound files, etc.
QuadSucker/News (SBSoftware - Windows) multithreaded news downloader. Supports yEnc and all other message posting formats (uuencode, base64, etc). Handles all possible types of attachments: GIF, JPEG, MP3, MPG, RAR, ZIP, and more.
TiFNY (tifny - Windows) downloads and organizes binary files from Usenet newsgroups. Powerful navigation of downloaded files in full database with the author, date, file size, file type, and subject from the original postings.
UsenetGrab (East Bay Tech - Windows) has a web-browser-like interface that makes it a great way to get started using newsgroups.
Unison (Panic - MacOSX) feature-rich reader allowing easy picture and text newsgroup viewing.
Web based newsreaders
Usenet-Access.com - allows access to all newsgroups using any web browser. Text-based and binary newsgroups available. Also works with AOL and WebTV newsgroup users. Highly recommended!
Google Groups (was DejaNews) - free newsgroup access to text-only forums (no binaries). Excellent search functionality with posts dating back to 1995.
Providers of Newsgroup Access
Check out Newsgroup Service Providers
Newsgroup Service Providers typically are solely focused on providing newsgroup access, many times to groups numbering in the hundreds-of-thousands (see complete list of newsgroups). Access is usually given via login & password, which is nice as you can access the newsgroups from anywhere you can get internet access. I find it handy because often I want access from home, work, or an internet cafe while on the road.
For those of you mainly interested in music, software, movies, and pictures (known as the *binaries* newsgroups), the difference between providers will be expressed in terms of completion, retention and speed. Let's start with a few definitions:
- completion: postings of MP3, software, movies, and pictures are typically posted in multiple parts due to their size (and "post size" restrictions of the newsserver). To download the entire music or application and have it work properly on your computer, all the parts of the post must be available on the newsserver. If all parts are not available, more than likely the music or application you downloaded will not work properly when you go to use it. A completion rate (usually expressed in terms of a percentage (%) over 90% is considered excellent.
- retention: how long posts exist on a newsserver. News servers typically expire posts as newer postings are added to the newsgroups, and based on the amount of available disk space on the server. This is useful for both binaries and text-only groups since the longer the retention, the farther back in time you can go to read or download postings. Over 30 days is considered excellent.
- speed: how fast posts are downloaded/uploaded to/from your computer. This will be important to those users downloading large (over 100Kb and especially multi-part) posts. If you have a DSL, cable, (or faster) internet connection you'll want to consider this option when researching a provider.
Determining the best newsgroup providers is not cut-and-dry, as it really depends on how you want to use newsgroups. For those of you who intend to use Usenet the way it was originally meant (as a chat forum for text-only postings; not software) then any newsgroup service provider should suffice
I have great experience with usenetserver
*****************PROPS TO NEWSREADERS.INFO************************
HERE IS MY QUICK AND EASY GUIDE FOR DUMMIES!
THIS IS FOR PAID SUBSCRIPTION
Step 1: Go to USENETSERVER.COM and sign up for service. I have the three month service. They will e-mail you a username and password to access their server. There is a three day trial to satisfy your needs.
Step 2: Go to NEWSLEECHER.COM. Download the newsleecher software. INSTALL software. You can try it or buy it. If you buy it follow the directions---They will email you a serial number. When finished open newsleecher program to configure. Now with software opened/ on the left CLICK ON MANAGER. On the bottom of manager CLICK ON ADD. You will get a pop-up box called "SERVER SETUP." in the server setup type in your server address and server nickname. I subscribed to usenetserver. SO I WILL TYPE NEWS.USETNETSERVER.COM in the server address and server nickname box's. Now CHECK/CLICK server require login and put your username and password that you received from usenetserver (check your e-mail if you forgot). Finally on the Connections and Priority I just put 4 for each. PRESS OK WHEN FINISHED
Step 3: Download WinRAR (Extracts files)--Free Trial for 40 days
Step 4: Download QUICKPAR (Checks and fixes the binaries for error)--Free software
STEP 5: I use NEWZBIN as my newsreader. Super Cheap.
NOW YOU ARE SETUP TO GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Senior Member
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4. January 2007 @ 07:44 |
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Are you advertising?
That's against the forum rules
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blade003
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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4. January 2007 @ 08:10 |
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what does this have to do with psp.
don't advertise
xbox with xecuter 2.6 CE mod chip with unleash X dashboard and 160 GB HDD
PSP FW 1.50 with dark alex's custom firmware!
Nintendo DS Lite
Xbox 360 premium |
AfterDawn Addict
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4. January 2007 @ 08:34 |
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will this work on AOL and can i downlaod psp iso's? i dont wanna buy ANYTHING!
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Senior Member
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4. January 2007 @ 08:38 |
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You have to pay for decent usenet access touran, but its worth it.
All new releases available, I get 1500kb/sec download speed.
I pay around £10 a month for unlimited downloads.
We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent...
J. Robert Oppenheimer
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 4. January 2007 @ 08:38
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Senior Member
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4. January 2007 @ 10:50 |
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This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 4. January 2007 @ 10:53
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Senior Member
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4. January 2007 @ 11:18 |
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LOL I have been on here for a year or 2 now and never really noticed that forum myself! :)
We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent...
J. Robert Oppenheimer
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Senior Member
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4. January 2007 @ 11:36 |
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i'm portuguese and i only notice that was a portuguese forum in the last week
we dont even notice all the stuff that we can find here in afterdawn
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 4. January 2007 @ 11:37
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kidyugi1
Junior Member
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4. January 2007 @ 15:45 |
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Originally posted by smlvfx:
@kidyugi1
you should post your guide is this forum "User submitted guides"
http://forums.afterdawn.com/forum_view.cfm/62[/quote]
Thanks could find it anywhere?
Also, NO IM NOT ADVERTISING. IF you took the time to read you will understand. TORRENTS and P2P are worthless TO ME!!!
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Senior Member
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5. January 2007 @ 02:28 |
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Quote:
TORRENTS and P2P are worthless TO ME!!!
i agree i also use newsgroups its much better
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ggbarnum
Senior Member
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5. January 2007 @ 03:09 |
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Hmmm $50 every 3 months for usenet or $0 for torrents.. I know which I prefer :)
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kidyugi1
Junior Member
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5. January 2007 @ 10:43 |
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The old saying goes "you get what u pay for" How long does it take to d/l something like a game backup (like 5days on torrent) and then u haved to pray that it's not corrupted. Newsgroup is straight downloading from a server. How long does it take to to download 1 terabyte of various stuff on torrent. I could take me about 3 weeks (this is me taking my time and doing it). That will take 1 year on torrent and p2p's
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ggbarnum
Senior Member
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5. January 2007 @ 11:20 |
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I guess everyone's experience is different, but I can download a 1GB ISO in about 2 hours from torrents. The only limitation is the speed of my link which would be no quicker on newsgroups.
I have yet to download a torrent that didnt work prefectly, as long as you pick the right one all is fine.
But each to their own.
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kidyugi1
Junior Member
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5. January 2007 @ 12:27 |
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sorry to hear that it takes 2 hours to download a 1 GB iSO. With newsgroup and a good connection you can download an 8 GB game in under 2 hours. I.E. XBOX 360 backup
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ggbarnum
Senior Member
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5. January 2007 @ 23:14 |
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LOL - as I said it takes me that long cos my link is not that fast, if I increased my link bandwidth it would be much quicker and torrents would still be FREE
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shorto
Newbie
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9. January 2007 @ 16:15 |
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Well since non of us want to pay for "iligal" stuff, do you know of a way to import servers to newsleecher more quickly that with the "ADD SERVER" button? You need at least 50 free working servers to get speeds around 80kb/s, so if there is a quicker way to do this please type it here.
See Ya! :)
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hoddey
Member
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1. April 2007 @ 06:55 |
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when i download newsgroups i find it's up and down on the speed one second it's 42 then 300 then no speed at all and this is like all the time i have port forward but still no good I'm with newsthunder orange sever with a 6mg download and i use newsrover . thanks
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ucfmoe
Member
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1. April 2007 @ 07:08 |
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When you're downloading torrents your download speed depends on the connection of the peers that you're connected to. On newsgroups your downloading straight from a server, so it will use your entire bandwidth. I've never seen speeds lower than 800kb/sec when I download from newsgroups. You're at the mercy of other people's connections on torrents. And when you download DVDs, you're actually downloading an entire ISO of a DVD, with torrents you have to download an AVI and then convert it do DVD, too much work and too time consuming.
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staxx
Senior Member
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1. April 2007 @ 08:02 |
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Meh...I dont mind torrents, still give me decent download times (15-30mins per game) Plus you dont always have to download torrents, there are other sites out here that have uploaded games without the risk of corrupted files. So thanks but no thanks to newsgroup can get the same results for free from other sites at the same speeds and same quality without any risk of corruption.
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