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Usenet Newsgroups

Usenet is a collection of Internet news groups and is its own standalone element of the Internet, just like the world wide web, P2P, email and chat rooms. Like these other elements, Usenet requires its own software and has its own terminology and structure.

Usenet newsgroups - often thought out of date or somehow passé - originated some time ago but remain a good source of downloads and information. Better yet, Usenet newsgroups can be a very private source of downloads and information, if some steps are followed.

Just as surfing the web needs browser software, Usenet requires its own software too, called a newsreader. Newsreader software enables you to connect to a news server, the source or place from which you can get your Usenet downloads, whether music, images, videos, movies or documents.

The entire Usenet from its inception has been and continues to be archived (for example, see Google's Groups which has 20+ years' worth of Usenet archives!). This means that unless you give anonymity some thought, any posts you make (attaching files or otherwise) will be recorded. Such posts could come back to haunt you. For example, many employers routinely search applicant's names in Internet databases as part of their candidate screening process.

The book, Complete Guide to Internet Privacy, Anonymity & Security, explains Usenet newsgroups as well as how best to access its newsgroups safely and privately through tried and true newsreader software and news server providers.