In a time before our time, when the Internet was young and computers were expensive, bulky and slow, people already discussed important politics, news and more adult topics online. And after a while, they noticed how unpractical it was to exchange files over floppy discs – they wanted to do it over the Internet. There was no Pirate Bay, no file lockers, no file sharing programs or torrents at all. Still, data was exchanged…
Fast forward to 2015. Usenet downloading, one of the oldest ways to download media, has evolved to a real alternative to torrents and file lockers.
But with torrents giving you all you need for very easily and free, why should anybody look at alternatives? Well, here is a real-time comparison…
Downloading the critically acclaimed movie “Steal This Film” in real-time.
First, with uTorrent, using a torrent from Kickass.to…
…and now, with a Usenet client:
(Notice the downloading process pausing for a few seconds, due to the hard drive being unable to keep pace)
Introducing Usenet, an fast, easy and secure alternative to almost everything you can findon torrent sites (and some more)
When you start using Usenet, there’s no way back, period. But what is it, and how does it work?
Usenet is a worldwide network of synchronized servers, which was developed for discussions but is also used to share files. And the amount of data posted is flabbergasting, including the latest films, games, software, music, you call it (legal disclaimer: Be sure to ask for permission from the copyright holders if you’re unsure about ownership of the work). To top it all off, beginners will only need a few minutes to get started.
Here are the main advantages:
- Fullspeed downloads, no matter how old or popular a file is
With Usenet, you can finally max out your fast Internet connection you pay so much money for easy month. You’ll see no difference between old or very recent releases as you have with torrents, since everything is downloaded directly from your Usenet provider. The movie we loaded in our example above was uploaded about 1280 days ago at the time of the recording, and the same goes for the torrent. See the difference?
. - An impressive archive of media, software, games, be it very recent or old
Everything you can find on public torrent sites is available on Usenet (with exceptions of course), and in some cases even more. Even choose to get the full resolution Blu-Ray version of that TV show or movie, or looked for an old flick or album long gone from your favorite file sharing sites? Opportunity is right here. Disclaimer: Be sure to comply with the copyright laws in your country.
. - Privacy by design
Nobody is logging what you download, period. With Usenet providers being protected by law and the potential size of logs so immense it would cost a fortune to keep them, no worries to get bothered or sued in some copyright trolls money scheme as it happens to dozens of file sharers daily. You download directly from the providers servers using an SSL encrypted connection, without connecting to anyone else like with torrents.
. - Easy to use
If you can use torrents, you’ll love Usenet, period. Even the more complex clients are quite handy, but with modern newsreaders such as UseNeXT or the Newshosting Newsreader, it doesn’t get much easier. With an in-built search, you literally just search for what you want, doubleclick, done. Take that, BitTorrent!Sometimes you’ll prefer to use Usenet forums, especially when you want to avoid fakes or files deleted by DMCA requests (more relevant for very new content), but this is very similar to using a torrent site.
Are there downsides?
- Usenet isn’t free, although they’re tons of free trial accounts from various providers available. Eventually you’ll want to settle for one service you liked best instead of creating new accounts over and over again. With our special deals, you can, for example, get unlimited access from one of the top providers for just $9.99, or even cheaper if you don’t mind making compromises in terms of speed and overall quality.
. - Sometimes, files gets deleted by a DMCA request or turn out to be fakes. It might take a few attempts to find what you want if you settle with the clients build-in search engine, so you might want to check out some of the NZB sites we recommend, the torrent sites of the Usenet mentioned before.
Our verdict: Usenet is definitely worth a try. You can test it out for free and check for yourself;
