Replace Torrenting with Usenet

Hi,

Sorry if this has been posted before but I'm looking at trying Usenet instead of torrents.

I've done some Googling and honestly, it's a little overwhelming knowing what Usenet provider to use, where to get quality indexers and which download client would be the best.

If anyone has any resources or advice to help me sail the Usenet seas I would be eternally grateful!

82 comments

I'm not sure about anything, but the client, as I've been usenetting without thinking much about stuff for almost a decade now.

eweka.nl (share your access with friends and family - I've shared mine with like 8 people some time in the past)

nzbgeek (lifetime API access was like 30€ - well worth it), I also know about nzbplanet, but I don't have a premium account there. You can try these out without paying to see if their offer suits what you're looking for, but you won't get API access of course and you'll be limited in the downloads.

Last, but not least: sabnzbd is the gold standard for clients. Runs on everything: from a raspberry pi to your Desktop PC.
41
- Do you tunnel your usage through a VPN?
  
  11
  
  Nope. Usenet is quite safe legally, afaik, since you're not uploading/seeding anything. IANAL, though.
  
  23
  
  Most Usenet providers offer secure connections so I don't know if it's necessary, but I use a VPN.
  
  10
  
  I do. Just in case.
  Ironically through my seedbox provider :p
  
  4
- I think it’s 80 for lifetime now, 12 for a year
  
  4
  
  You never know how long these sites are able to stay up in the future, but it's still way less than what I've payed on patreon over time.
  
  6
- Thank you! I'll give that stuff a look!
  
  3
  
  You may also want to look into NZBget (download client) and nzb360 for mobile management if you happen to be an Android user -- or LunaSea either way.
  
  1
Sabnzbd for downloading, Frugal usenet for provider, Nzbgeek and drunkenslug for indexer

37
- How much does all that cost? Or rather, does all that cost? I currently torrent but could see getting into Usenet if I don't have to provide payment info.
  
  7
  
  Sabnzbd is free, you can install anywhere basically. The rest is not free unfortunately, someone has to host the files, as there are no peers in usenet. I think some, if not all, providers and indexers can be paid with crypto or even mailing them the money by post.
  
  Provider is €50 a year. Indexers are around €10 a year, but there are lifetime subscriptions for some.
  
  In return, you don’t need a VPN, download speeds are stable and there is no seeding.
  
  Out of 220 files downloaded, I only needed torrents 12 times, rest is usenet.
  
  Read up on benefits of one over the other before switching :)
  
  20
- Also: SpotNet (with e.g. SpotWeb as a client)
  
  1
I jumped into Usenet as an experiment and, once it was setup, it was ok. Although it is definitely not simple to get started and it seems you are constantly having to pay for stuff, even to access the trackers, which don't even have all the content!

I decided I didn't download enough and what I wanted was too hard to find, so I went back to Torrents. Way simpler for my occasional use.

30
- Yeah I had the same experience. Tried it out, found it way too fiddly to set up, had to pay for stuff at every turn (and managing a bunch of subscriptions is a big part of why I hate using streaming platforms in the first place) and I really didn't find it to be worth it just to cover the tiny fraction of things I can't find on torrents (and which TBH I didn't even find there anyway.) Went back to torrents as it's like 2 clicks to download something and it covers 95% of what I need anyway.
  
  To be fair, it's entirely possible that I was just doing it wrong and not getting optimal results, but also I don't want to start over and pay for a bunch of other stuff to find out.
  
  9
Only get Usenet with a usenet deal. Usually on/around Black Friday.
Afaik deals are usually posted on r/UsenetDeals or similar called sub.

16
- Good to know, thank you!
  
  4
What are the advantages of usenets?

14
- In Germany they provide relief from the constant fear your vpn might leak and you'll receive mail.
  
  24
  
  Expensive mail.
  
  17
- Higher and better retention of old stuff.
  
  10
- It's great, although a little unfair, and perhaps illegal in some draconian jurisdictions, to use nets while fishing
  
  9
- You’re downloading from servers not other people, so you don’t have to worry about the number of peers
  
  8
- You can see the discussions that inspired the Comic Book Guy.
  
  4
DM me if you want invites to private indexers. They are paid but cheap. I also recommend frugal Usenet because...well...I'm cheap.

12
- I'll bite. What is frugal Usenet?
  
  7
  
  A usenet provider
  
  6
  
  Just a cheap Usenet provider. They're cheap for what the provide but in my opinion on par with the more expensive "premium" providers. https://frugalusenet.com/
  
  1
- What's the advantage of a private indexer vs a regular one? Why would I want one over another? I'm a complete Usenet newbie.
  
  4
  
  Main advantage is typically less DCMA take downs. The public ones are public access and therefore the bots crawl those and submit the takedowns faster than on a private indexer.
  
  5
I use Premiumize, multihoster for most popular Filehoster with access to Usenet, Torrent and VPN. Usenet retention is about 1200 days. It has 1TB of Cloud Storage and you can use their inbuilt Downloader on their website to download stuff straight to their cloud (or your own Mega or Google Drive cloud if you prefer that), so you don’t have to install any Torrent or Usenet clients. (This is not an ad, I just really like their service and been using it for 3 years)

Sabnzb or NZBGet are good choices if you wanna use some client on your own. Just don’t use Momentum, they will steal your credentials.

Most popular indexers are NZBIndex, Binsearch and NZBKing but I prefer Boards like nzbgrabit, nzbforyou or The Hive.

10
- Just a quick note that the dev for NZBGet stopped work on it a year or two ago. Probably better to stick with Sabnzb.
  
  2
  
  The dev did sanction the NZBGet fork tho (nzbgetcom/nzbget). So there is still a viable and actively developed NZBGet application for those who want it
  
  1
- I have never heard of any of those indexers there's no way those are the most popular
  
  1
  
  I guess it depends on where you’re from. As a German I only use the 3 biggest German NZB boards which are also free to use and they all redirect us to the downloads of the indexers mentioned. That's why I assumed they were the biggest.
  
  I just found out they're not and that there's way more popular indexers which you have to pay for which is hilarious to me.
  
  1
Why replace torrents? Why not use both? It's a bonus if your usenet provider includes a VPN.

10
- Good question, didn't really consider that if I'm honest. Could use the torrents as backup/secondary
  
  2
  
  One thing I love about usenet is that it's great if you're just looking for one episode, song, etc and don't want to download a whole collection.
  
  1
If you're planning to download media, check out the Server Wiki. It has guides on setting up all the software to automate the process.

9
- Thanks, but I am currently using Radarr and Sonarr, just looking at alternate potentially faster sources
  
  7
  
  You can use those on usenet, too. Just add your new trackers and download client, the rest of the -arr stack can remain as is.
  
  3
I switched in the fall, black Friday deals on account and several indexers. Looks like it's gonna be just at $100ish per year. After configuring an arr ecosystem with overseer handling all user interaction and automation, I don't think I'll ever go back. Totally worth the price imho

7
- Same. I got lifetime memberships to 3 usenet provides but the *arr suite gets ~95% of my media from nzbgeek. Now the only recurring cost is for my provider. Downloads are so much faster and reliable than torrenting, and the automation is amazing.
  
  4
  
  faster only depends on the server automation is easier too because it all comes from one central server. this also means its easier too shut down just look at all the Usenet providers that have been sued and closed down. downloads of torrents go faster the more people use it and download seed also depends on the internet connection of the people in the swarm. if enough people seed a torrent it will always be faster then a central sever that is bottle necked with how many connections it can handle at a time and is very hard to shut down because as long as one person is still seeding you can still download and you could build up the users of the swarm again. with usenet you can shut everything down by taking one server down and your paying money for it to so if this happens you also loose your money and then better hope you did not pay with a credit card because now they have your info too.
  
  1
- That's what I've done. The arr suite is pretty damn convenient. Last time I did this I had to manually go fetch everything myself.
  
  Keeping my eyes peeled for deals and things but may have to bite the bullet and just pay for one to at least try it out
  
  4
- You set this up in docker? I've been fighting docker all day, finally trying to set up some arr stuff. I'm not convinced that docker is the right way to go.
  
  3
  
  I have mine set up outside of docker
  
  3
  
  It's absolutely the right way to go, have my whole stack setup with docker compose.
  
  2
You forgot the first rule.

6
- You'll have to enlighten me, I'm a little out of touch after going straight for a while haha
  
  2
  
  You don't talk about Usenet.
  
  It's similar to rule number two.
  
  8
Usenet is old and centralized so a lot easier to shut down and is payed because you pay for server retention and access.

6
- Usenet is considered decentralized, it is made up of many independent servers that talk to each other. take one down, and the rest continue on without problems.
  
  2
  
  yes only with participating servers so the network is a lot smaller like only servers from one provider peer to peer is a lot more limited and slower. usenet now is just extensions build on top of the original protocol like NZB files.
  
  1
Everyone who is paying for pirating is doing things wrong. Don't be stupid.

1
- A lot of people are pirating not because of the money, but the horrible service of the streaming platforms
  
  4
  
  Doesn't matter. Pirating AND paying for it is something only a fool would do. Don't be a fool.
  
  -6

You've viewed 82 comments.