A guide to getting started with Usenet

Using Usenet with Hitnews

A Usenet provider gives you access to the servers where Usenet posts and files are stored. With a premium provider like Hitnews you get fast, complete and unlimited access to the binary newsgroups, which is exactly what you need for downloading with NZB files.

Why choose Hitnews?

• High download speeds using multiple connections
• Very long retention, so older files are still available
• Unlimited downloads without data caps
• SSL encryption for your privacy
• Fast EU servers with low latency

Setting up Hitnews in your Usenet client

1. Get a Hitnews subscription.
2. Install an NZB client, for example SABnzbd.
3. Add a server with your Hitnews details:
   • Server: news.hitnews.com
   • Port: 563 or 443 (SSL), 119 (without SSL)
   • SSL: Recommended
   • Username and password: your Hitnews login
   • Connections: up to the limit of your plan
4. Test the connection.
5. Download NZB files with your client.

Using SABnzbd? Follow our step-by-step SABnzbd guide.

How Usenet downloading works

1. Find an NZB file using an indexer.
2. Open the NZB file in your client.
3. Your client downloads the parts from the Hitnews servers.
4. The files are checked, repaired and unpacked automatically.

What is Usenet?

Usenet is a worldwide network of servers for exchanging messages and files. It was created around 1980, long before the World Wide Web existed, and grew popular in the 1990s as a place to discuss every imaginable topic.

You could call Usenet the first social network: people from all over the world meet in discussion groups, each dedicated to a single subject. Over time Usenet also started carrying files such as images, audio, video and software. Usenet is still very much alive today.

How does Usenet work?

Most websites run on servers owned by a single company. Usenet is different: no single organisation owns or controls it. It is made up of servers run by many independent providers that exchange posts with each other. This makes Usenet robust, although it is not completely immune to outside interference.

When someone posts a file, it is split into many small parts. Each part gets a unique message ID and is copied to Usenet servers all over the world. Another user can later download the file by asking a server for exactly those message IDs.

How to use Usenet?

Using Usenet involves a few building blocks that work together:

• Usenet servers store the posts and files. Hitnews is your access to these servers.
• Newsgroups are the discussion groups that posts are organised in.
• Newsreaders are programs for reading and writing text messages.
• NZB clients, like SABnzbd, download files from the servers.
• Indexers are websites that help you find content and provide NZB files.

In short, this is what happens:

1. A user posts a message or file to a Usenet server, and it receives a unique message ID.
2. The post is copied to other Usenet servers around the world.
3. You connect to a Usenet server and ask for the post by its message ID.
4. The server sends the message or file to your computer.

What does an NZB file do?

An NZB file is a small file that lists the message IDs of all parts that together make up a download. Your NZB client reads this list and fetches every part from the server. You can think of the NZB file as a map that tells your client exactly where to find each piece.

Summary

• Hitnews is a premium Usenet provider.
• Unlimited and fast downloads.
• Long retention and SSL security.
• Works with any NZB client.

With Hitnews, an NZB client and an indexer you have full access to Usenet.

Want to learn more? Read our tips and tricks for using Usenet.