6. Usenet Pros, Cons and FAQs

Let’s take a quick look at Usenet and overview the Pros and Cons of service and why you may choose over another download service, or why you may prefer something else to Usenet.

Pros

• Quick access to 0-day releases
• A decent provider will let you download as fast as your internet pipe can handle
• Not Peer-to-Peer meaning:
  • No Ratios!
  • No need to upload back.
  • Your IP is never public and you are safer vs Copyright Trolling
• Tons of applications to Automate the process

Cons

• Usenet Providers are generally a paid service
• Top NZB Indexers can be hard to get into and often require “Premium” / “VIP” account purchases
• Usenet Retention can make it harder to find old files compared to Torrents
• Less rare content / specializing in rare categories
• DMCA Takedowns mean you will often need to get content elsewhere

FAQs

Is Usenet Safe?

There is no perfect security in the File Sharing world, but Usenet is about as safe as it gets. Your IP and personal information is never on display for anyone except your Usenet Provider, and SSL connections are pretty standard to keep you safe from nosy ISPs.

With the latest NSA scandals it’s hard to ever feel truly safe from prying eyes, but we need to stop and consider that most legal action regarding copyrights comes from copyright holders themselves. For a copyright holder to get information from a Usenet provider they would need probable cause and be able to identify a person they are trying to get information on. As such, only uploaders are really taking on any major risk.

That’s not to say situations may not change in the future, particularly with Usenet coming more into public spotlight. But, so far, there aren’t really any cases of Usenet downloaders being targeted.

Got Questions?

Submit your questions in the comments!