What are your thoughts on Usenet?

Catman used to use that a lot but was unaware it's still around.

I don't think I have heard of it before. What exactly is it for? Is it a social networking site like Myspace, Facebook and Twitter or a site for pictures like Instagram?

I used to download a lot of fractal images on Usenet. It took a while though because I was using a 56k.

Usenet (or Newsgroups) can be good (I used them in the past for years) but it's easier for people to screw with the files on there vs torrents which can't really be stopped.

so torrent's are the general standard of file sharing overall and they are easier to use and are basically free where as Usenet is generally not free(although cheap enough).

p.s. while I don't use one they say VPN's are best if your going to use public torrents as it makes it so no one can find you since it can't be traced back to you when you download something since they only trace it back to the VPN's IP address (so if they don't keep logs and don't disclose anything to anyone. your golden ) and not your actual IP address and the traffic between your computer and the VPN is encrypted. I think there is some slight speed penalty with using a VPN but if you already got a fast connection it won't matter much.



it's pretty easy once you understand how it works. but it's not as simple as a torrent though, but not that much harder either.

www.altbinz.net/index.php ; use the free one (i.e. v0.25.0 ) on downloads page of which is what I used for years. but basically you just setup the username/password/server/port info and amount of connections you want. then you can use a website like www.binsearch.info/ to download a .nzb file (of whatever your trying to download) which is then loaded into the alt.binz program and it downloads your file(s) at your internet lines maximum speed.

also, just make sure to avoid certain files you don't trust because of potential virus etc and then your pretty safe. I am sure there is a lot junk on there but I generally know what to look for when I used it a while ago so I was good.

also, the 'par2' files you see are used to repair broken/damaged files. so in other words if someone uploads a video file and it's split into say 70 rar files and say some of the rar files are slightly corrupted or incomplete, you can use the par2 files to repair your download back to a 100% functional state. but this only works to some degree as it seems there are people actively messing with some files and they mess with just enough of it to where your download won't work.

at this point in time... if you want to play it safe, use a VPN and then use torrents (with say with the 'qBittorrent' client). I think Usenet was better a while ago (say the earlier part of this decade or so) than it is now.

Caesar Roberto



I pretty much stopped using public torrents later last year to stay off the radar as they got plenty of those copyright notices being sent to ISP's etc.


p.s. USENET is fast and convenient and better than torrent in some ways but I would imagine more and more stuff is being taken down than it used to be back on the earlier side of this decade. so the more 'good ol' days' of USENET might be somewhat behind us.






Assuming your VPN does not leak etc (which the better ones won't) it's safer in the sense if someone tries to send a copyright infringement letter to your ISP they can't because they don't know your real IP address and will only see the VPN's and if the VPN is out of the country etc and pretty much ignores that crap, your basically golden simply because they can't find you since they can't see your real IP address. so if your using public torrents for "stuff" your definitely safer with a quality VPN than not.

because a VPN is basically setup like this...

YOUR PC > VPN SERVER > GENERAL INTERNET/TORRENTS. so your ISP can only see your connected to say a certain IP address (i.e. the VPN) but won't be able to see the data your downloading (be it a random website or torrent etc) since it's encrypted and those people that don't like you sharing torrents will only see the VPN IP ADDRESS and not your REAL IP ADDRESS. so if your VPN stays quiet about you, which the quality ones will, your basically golden.

but it does appear some VPN's are better than others as you can generally look online for reviews etc as some VPN's should be solid but I imagine the decent ones probably cost a little more than those super cheap ones but if your going to get a VPN it's probably worth the slight $ premium for the peace of mind.

p.s. I never used a VPN yet so I can't give you any recommendations.

Caesar Roberto



Still, one is rolling-the-dice as if someone shares something, like is what happens on torrents, and it's publicly available there is always a chance you could get nailed.

but from what I have read online it seems your more likely to get nailed for movies than for music, at least as of 2010-2014 data I seen online. basically this general post... https://www.reddit.com/r/torrents/comments/3zcdy1/what_are_your_chances_us_piracy_lawsuit_analysis/

either way... as a general rule, to be safe, avoid public torrents if you don't use a quality VPN. or if you do gamble on public torrents... I would probably avoid movies (and the like) at the least.



I suspect that's possible, but unlikely. if the VPN is located in countries that ignore copyright claims etc then you should be pretty safe and I think for many of those copyright suits they tend to look for cost effective ways to get people so a VPN makes it that much harder to get someone as it's more effort and that right there makes them more likely to go after someone else that's easier to get to etc.

plus, I don't think anyone is going to THAT extreme to nail people for basic copyright infringement for a basic download and the like. if they were you would have likely heard something by now.

p.s. I would not write off all reviews on VPN's and other things. sure, the common persons review on a VPN might not mean much in some ways but I would imagine some reviews are done a bit more professionally than others are and those would carry at least some credibility. overall a VPN is definitely better than no VPN when it comes to public torrents as I doubt anyone would disagree with that, especially if you do a lot of downloading.