Did you ever hear about usenet? Younger generations tend to not recognize this ancient form of internet sharing. Usenet is a nice alternative to distribute news, comment on news, or download files legally. It’s kind of a big new stand, or huge bulletin board, where everyone can post their stuff and others can get a copy of it. Not to mention usenet can be used to download movies, games and music, and its superior compared to other file sharing sites. It works on a similar premise as BitTorrent, but using it completely legal. Although this technology can serve you in several ways, you might come across some unwanted or harmful content. Be sure you won’t leave a trace while browsing, and encrypt your connection using VPN.
A file sharing system that is completely legal? How is that possible? Well, you can’t find anything on usenet. By definition, usenet is a “worldwide distributed discussion system”, created back in 1980. This digital T-Rex utilizes a network of servers to create a digital platform where people can share messages (also known as articles or posts), as well as files. The interesting thing about usenet is it has no “central”; all servers are equal. Plus, your articles or files won’t be stored forever, only for a limited amount of time. Still, you can use it for browsing or downloading purposes if you feel so. While at the topic of usenet access, we should mention that the system is only available if you subscribe to a provider, like Newshooting, GigaNews, or Astraweb.
Although usenet holds an incredibly large amount of text documents, we guess you might be more interested in the file sharing aspect. This section is labelled as “binary newsgroup” , where you find small file segments with NZB format. Just like with torrenting, usenet doesn’t showcase larger software or media upfront, but holds it in distributed fragments. The NZB file acts as your compass, and with the help of a usenet client, you can glue them together in one piece.
As we mentioned before, accessing usenet, even if you download copyrighted material, is completely legal. At the moment. The ban hammer is swiftly closing on it. The problem started when people in the late 90s started uploading porn and cracked software. This led to some unwanted media attention, and providers started to cancel their support of usenet. Its popularity stagnated, and the traffic declined. Still, a lot of people saw the potential in the service, and it became an underground phenomenon, where users tried to keep the existence of the file sharing aspect in secret. This worked only for a couple of years, as both RIAA and MPA picked up on the trick, filing lawsuits against different service providers of usenet.
Currently usenet is able to maintain its status, but if you want to use it for download files, keep in mind the following: unlike BitTorrent, you need to pay to use it, and setting up a usenet client is a bit complicated. Also, you need a surefire way to keep up your anonymity. Large content right organizations are hunting for people who download copyrighted content. Even if you use the service to share non-copyrighted material, encrypting your data could never hurt. And this is where VPN comes in.
If you want to make the most of your private web surfing sessions, consider using the two services together. This way, their positive attributes add up, while their disadvantages are negated. Some VPN services come with smart DNS features, which is a nice touch when you want to avoid further detections. Most of them also have a nice client program, which makes the management of your virtual locations even easier. And don’t forget, that you are able to choose your proxy server’s location as well. With the Tor alongside VPN, your expenses don’t increase, since Tor is free. Yet, you still can visit hidden sites, and chat with others in full privacy. Still, we admit that using two data routing software might be a hassle. That’s why you should check out VPNs which also grant you access to the Tor network!
Combining usenet and VPN is a rewarding move. Usenet can be used for either reading articles or downloading files. The former requires a higher level protection, while the latter is only possible with a high connection speed. Luckily, VPNs are versatile, and they can be adjusted to fit your needs. Setting high level encoding reduces the data transfer speed, but it’s fitting for reading purposes. Still, a lower, 256-bit encryption is sufficient enough to keep your anonymity intact while downloading files. It’s the best to pick a VPN that is known to be fast, and has multiple levels of encryption. We also recommend choosing one that offers dedicated servers or other ways to hide the fact you are using a borrowed IP. And as our last advice: search for a VPN that offers a long trial period, or even a free plan. Both usenet and VPNs are subscription-based services, and paying for two lay heavily on your budget.
Now that we’ve managed to convince you about the benefits of VPNs, you only need to find a suiting service. There are swarms of promising offers in the internet, and sorting them out is no easy task. We chose three promising candidates for you, but if you are interested, you can read more reviews from our VPN experts.
VyprVPN’s biggest strength is undeniably its fast speed. They guarantee unlimited speed no matter what, without compromising your protection. Their highest level of encryption is 256-bit, which is fairly balanced. They don’t outsource anything, and they are using their own client software. VyprVPN’s mother company Golden Frog has a dependable list of servers, covering all continents, except Africa. They also offer extra features, like VyprDNS, which acts as a built-in smart DNS function. In case you want to add an extra layer of defense, use the Chamelon protocol, as it scrambles your metadata, so you won’t be recognized by any form of traffic analysis.
IPVanish is one of the most anticipated VPN services currently available. You get several benefits for choosing it: more than 225 servers in 60 countries, unlimited bandwidth, and a client program that makes the privacy protection an easily manageable task. They own all of their servers, and develop all other infrastructure in-house as well, which is a way secure method than relying on open source apps. IPVanish supports OpenVPN, L2TP, and PPTP protocols, and you can set it up on every kind of device, smartphones and smart TVs included. IPVanish sports a kill switch feature too, which instantly stops all downloads when the VPN connection drops.
Pronounced as “VPN for All”, this VPN service merges together an advanced VPN network infrastructure, and a reliable open source program. It has servers in 26 countries, meaning you can choose from over 1,000 IPs. Although your bandwidth is limited to only 50GB, you get to choose from a surprisingly long list of network protocols. It offers 2096-bit encryption, which is high enough to protect your data from being ciphered by normal means. And you can expect to port this VPN service to all of your computers, smartphones and even your smart TV.
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