Torrent users and those who are just considering using this technology, can benefit from learning about Usenet. While Usenet has been around for decades, many people are still unfamiliar with it. Before we start going through Usenet, let’s discuss another popular solution for downloading content: Torrents. This option is widely used and it has become the preferred option for many due to its ease of use and because in general, it is free to use. Torrents and Usenet rely on download managers, also known as clients, applications or software. A torrent download manager and a Usenet download manager have some aspects in common, including the fact that both of them allow you to choose the content that you want to download, as well as when you want to download it.
In Usenet, the client is known as News Grabber and in spite the name, it is not related with newspapers or headlines. With the Usenet client, you can get access to forums, where the content that you can download is available. The data is organized into specific categories and you can get it from the discussion threads that are combined to set up forums. What this means is that in order to find the content that you want, you may need to spend a little bit of extra time scrolling down, if the Usenet client you have is not an advanced version. In general, Usenet clients are open source and the most popular options include PAN newsreader, Binreader, HelloNZB and NZBGet.
NZB is a file extension that allows you to gather posts from Usenet servers, just like the file extension for torrent files is .torrent. Forums used to be very popular and although their relevance has declined, there are still many options available. Bulletin boards were available before instant messaging applications and they gave people the chance to post messages and share their opinions with users from around the world. These days, we mainly rely on Facebook, Twitter and similar options, but forums still provide a way of communication and they allow users to interact with others.
How do Torrents work
In order to find a torrent file, you can use your browser and look for the content that you want. Once you find it, you can download the torrent file using your Torrent client to manage the process automatically. The torrent client uses data from the torrent tracker, which is a file that contains the IP address of every user who has the file (or parts of the file) that you want to download. The pieces of data are downloaded and put together simultaneously so that in the end, you can get the full file. While torrents can be a practical way to download media content, they also come with some risks.
In many cases, the entertainment industry establishes fake servers to trick torrent trackers into registering them as reliable download sources. They use these fake servers as traps that lure the torrent tracker and when the file is downloaded, your IP address is logged. When the copyright holders have your IP address on record, they have the necessary information to identify you and target you with warnings, letters, blocks imposed in collaboration with your ISP and maybe even fines. If you download torrent files that are subject to copyright, keep in mind that it is likely that the movie and TV studios are looking for ways to catch you.
How does Usenet works and advantages of using this technology
Usenet works in a similar way as torrents. You use your web browser to look for NZB files on any of the multiple NZB search engines available online. Once you find the content that you want, you can download the NZB file with the help of the Usenet client, which will take care of the process. One of the main advantages of Usenet over torrents is the fact that it can be considerably faster when it comes to transferring the data. In addition, there are automated search and download software options like CouchPotato Movie Grabber that establish a connection with the Usenet client and keep track of the availability of the content that you want to download. Once the content becomes available, the software uses your Usenet client to download it.
Apart from offering the possibility of downloading content faster in most cases, Usenet is good alternative to torrents because it gives you more control over your anonymity when downloading content. Your identity and privacy are less likely to be compromised because Usenet is designed to apply encryption to protect your downloads. An SSL connection is established between you and the Usenet server so not even your ISP will know what you are downloading. Usenet also features protection against viruses, making it an overall safer solution. One thing to keep in mind is that the availability of the files will vary and in order to get the most out of Usenet, you would need to use a Premium Usenet service.
Another thing to keep in mind is that Usenet clients connect to Usenet servers to download files and during the download, the data is stored in the Temporary Download Folder. The files are moved to the Completed Download Folder once the download process is fully completed. The reason behind this is that the Usenet client downloads the file and checks it to ensure that it is not damaged or incomplete before you can access it. If the client comes across broken or incomplete parts, it will repair them and/or complete them before it moves the data to the Completed Download Folder. This ensures that you get good quality, complete files.
Protect yourself from threats to your privacy
Although Usenet offers important advantages that will help you to download content safely and fast, it is still important to take additional measures to protect your online traffic. Usenet offers encryption when you download content, but in order to reinforce your privacy, you can consider using a VPN to search for NZB files. VPNs protect your entire traffic so even when you are not downloading content, your online chats, your emails and everything else will be protected from eavesdroppers.
