UsenetServer Review
Top10Usenet is a world expert in testing Usenet providers. Our picks have been featured on TechRadar, LifeHacker, How-To Geek, Tom’s Guide, and more.
Verdict: 4.8 out of 5
UsenetServer has been around since 2000 and is well regarded by Usenet veterans, known for high quality Usenet at a value price. UsenetServer has high-speed with excellent retention rates.
New to Usenet? We recommend Newshosting, Eweka, and Easynews because they have more features.
UsenetServer Category Ratings
| Retention | 5/5 |
| Performance | 5/5 |
Privacy and Security
|
5/5 |
Pricing
|
4/5 |
| Getting Started | 3/5 |
Pros
- Lightning fast speed
- Affordable price
- Add-ons available
Cons
- No in-house newsreader software
UsenetServer Features
- Great Retention – UsenetServer has some of the highest retention rates on Usenet, 5942+ days. Retention spools continuously so their archive expands by one day every day. UsenetServer does not expire posts.They are also on one of the largest Usenet backbones in the world.
- Unlimited Downloads – Unlimited downloads every month. Absolutely no data caps on any of their subscription plans, so download to your heart’s content.
- Global Search – UsenetServer users have unrestricted access to Global Search, a free tool that makes it easy to find posts on Usenet and download them to your computer.
- SSL Encryption – All UsenetServer connections come with 256-bit SSL encryption, the gold standard for online security that also protects global banking and government communications.
- Free VPN – Sign up for UsenetServer through Top10Usenet’s special deal and get a free premium virtual private network (VPN) account. Protect all your Internet activity from prying eyes and online scams.
Rating
|
4.8 out of 5 |
| Retention | 5942+ Days in all binary and text newsgroups |
|
Security
|
SSL and VPN |
| Discount | 70% savings |
|
Price
|
$5.99/mo |
Usenet Search?
|
Yes. Free access to Global Search. |
To learn more about UsenetServer and its service, check out our in-depth review below or click here to go to their website.
Retention
| Retention Start Date | August 15, 2008 |
| Retention Length | 5942+ Days |
Binary and Text Retention
|
Access to over 120,000 newsgroups. |
Retention is the amount of time (measured in days) that a post made to Usenet is stored on a provider’s servers. The retention rate will determine the number of accessible files. For example, if a provider’s retention is 75 days, a file posted to Usenet 65 days ago will only remain available on their servers for 10 more days, after which it will be deleted to make room for newer posts.
Retention time varies remarkably among different providers. Some Usenet providers store files on their servers for only a few months to keep their operations cost as low as possible while others, like UsenetServer, store files for years.
Usenetserver stores all binary and text articles posted to Usenet in the past 5942 days, not just commonly requested ones. With almost 15 years of retention on their servers, the difference in the number of posts you have at your disposal is huge. Although it is very difficult to put an exact number on it, we’d venture that there’s close to a hundred billion posts on Usenet Server with that much retention.
High retention services like UsenetServer benefit the entire Usenet community. This commitment is a primary reason why we selected UsenetServer as one of our top recommended Usenet providers.
Performance
UsenetServer makes it clear that they do not limit speeds. We signed up for the monthly plan with unlimited downloads and tested the service with our high speed fiber line, which provides some of the fastest Internet available. This allowed us to accurately test UsenetServer’s speed, since any slowdowns would likely not be the result of a slow Internet connection.
In a series of test downloads carried out over five days during various times, we were regularly able to download large posts very quickly. Our account came with 20 connections, and we never experienced a slowdown or pause over the course of our testing.
Included Newsreader Software
UsenetServer doesn’t have its own newsreader software, but the site provides a link to a set of popular, free newsreaders, and gives some detail for each option to help you select one. Once you find the newsreader software you like best, just follow the installation guide, and you can start browsing Usenet.
UsenetServer also provides access to its own Usenet search engine called UNS Global Search to run your own searches on Usenet by subject, newsgroup, poster and even age of the post. Once you enter your search query, the results feature information to help you identify exactly what you are looking for, including:
- Subject name of the file
- Group the file was posted to
- Age of the file post
- Size of the file post
- Number of articles in the file post
Privacy and Security
The main alternatives to Usenet are typically peer-to-peer services, which have little to no privacy, and often leave your IP address and your network activity vulnerable.
Usenet platforms, on the other hand, are operated by private companies and provide significantly better protection. As commercial entities who provide services to paying customers, they must deliver a safe and secure experience to stay in business.
UsenetServer provides SSL encrypted connections to all of its servers, ensuring that your data transfer is always secure. For more general online privacy, they also offer a free, zero-log VPN on all yearly plans, which lets you use an anonymous IP address from a remote server.
UsenetServer also has a clearly written privacy policy containing significantly more information than the half-hearted, boilerplate privacy disclaimers you typically see. It explicitly says, “We do not monitor which newsgroups you post to or download from or what you put in news articles that you post.”
Pricing
UsenetServer is known for offering the best price for premium unlimited Usenet access. For only $5.99/mo (a 70% discount exclusive to Top10Usenet), users can enjoy:
- Unlimited downloads every month
- Unlimited speeds
- Access to some of the highest binary and text retention available (currently 5942 days)
- Free 256-bit SSL encryption for your connections
- Access to US + EU server farms
- Unlimited Usenet search through Global Search
- Free zero-log VPN account (included with the yearly plan)
With the highest retention, multiple server locations, Usenet search engine, and free zero-log VPN, UsenetServer is a premium service at a value price.
Try UsenetServer with Top10Usenet’s special offer, 70% discount. Immediately receive a confirmation email with your account credentials, connect your newsreader software and start searching Usenet Server.
Bottom Line
UsenetServer provides fast, unlimited downloads for the best price with uncapped download speeds, a Usenet search engine, some of the highest binary and text retention available, access to multiple servers in the US and Europe, free 256-bit SSL encryption, and a free zero-log VPN account. If you already have newsreader software that you personally use and enjoy, UsenetServer is our top recommended Usenet service for you.
