Sexy Newsgroups

Here is the only good free Usenet service I have ever found. XS Usenet offers lifetime 1Mbit free Usenet access with 600+ days retention, no IP logging, 2500Tb storage, and they require no personal details for access. This is the only free Usenet server I’ve ever seen that has binary groups. They do offer a paid upgrade which offers more speed but honestly your money would be better spent with one of the many other premium services. The difference between the free and the paid accounts is the free account has the speed is throttled and the number of allowed connections is reduced to just two. You can use any NNTP news client to access their service through a standard or SSL connection. All you need to do is give them an email address to get your Username/Password for their reader.xsusenet.com news server. If your don’t want to give them your email address you can use a free disposable Spam Avert email address. For FREE Usenet access XS Usenet is your best (only?) option.

In years past I have always had access to the Usenet newsgroups through my ISP. The service hasn’t always been all that great (throttled, low retention, etc.) but good enough. Over the last few years just about every ISP has dropped Usenet access and my current ISP (Comcast) is no exception. I didn’t really think I would miss the Usenet newsgroups, until they were gone.

At one time there were “Public News Servers” or at least there were rumored to be. Public News Servers gave Usenet access to anyone without a subscription. If you ever did find one it was usually total crap only offering a few groups (and almost never any binary groups). If you did find a decent one it was usually gone the next day. If you want to take a shot at finding one (good luck) take this News Finder software for a spin. Using XS Usenet as a starting place it will search for open news servers, if there are any.

Step Up to Premium Usenet

After playing with the free Usenet service you will most likely be wanting more. More speed, more groups, MORE BINARIES! This is where the premium services come in. They store much more, much longer and sent it much faster.

If you are interested in the best Usenet service and don’t mind paying for it. I recommend EasyNews (best for Web access) and UsenetServer (best for NNTP access). They are the best Usenet providers for people who can afford not to be cheap like me.