There’s always the question of which download medium is ‘safest’ to use. There’s concern about viruses, spyware, malware, corrupted files, and of course lawsuits. It’s generally perceived that networks such as FastTrack are the most susceptible to these threats, while alternative technologies such as Usenet provide the best protection.

Usenet’s increasingly well structured and organized nature has mitigated the threat of obtaining malware. Most file archives are indexed by sites like Newzbin.com, and user comments associated with archives typically provides ample warning.

File indexing - whether it’s Usenet, eDonkey2000 or BitTorrent related - has largely resolved the very issues that have helped drive away FastTrack’s userbase. However bandwidth throttling and security concerns prompted the development of end-to-end encryption. This feature has become popular with BitTorrent clients, who often find their ISP has restricted bandwidth available to this protocol. eMule has also developed protocol encryption, as blanket policies against P2P typically makes eDonkey2000 a network casualty.

Within the last several years, Usenet and P2P have witnessed converging similarities; indexing servers, automatic linking, and easier to use clients. Today, Giganews.com introduces one more, encrypted Usenet. Giganews.com provides server access to the Newsgroups, and is a top ranked provider on Slyck.com.

“Encrypted Usenet access allows Giganews' customers to securely and privately participate in Usenet newsgroups,” a press release from Giganews reads. “All data passed from Giganews’ servers to the customer’s computer is encrypted. This includes all username and password data, articles, posts, and headers. For the first time, Giganews’ encrypted Usenet service gives customers security, privacy, and anonymity in a performance rich environment.”

The security of Usenet has often been the subject of conversation, however considering that binary downloads are already encoded as text documents, this has rarely been a cause for alarm. Yet as a major Usenet provider to offer encryption, this move indicates many in the newsgroup community are concerned with file download interdiction, and recent enforcement against Usenet indexing sites.

According to Giganews, the Newsgroup provider is “utilizing SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption on Giganews' own proprietary Usenet platform.” Compatible Usenet clients are Newsleecher, Newsbin, Thunderbird, and Outlook Express. The service is available for an additional $5.00 per month.

This story is filed in these Slyck News categories
Newsgroups/Usenet :: Other

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