Usenet

Usetnet is a totally different approach to Torrenting: it's the opposite way. All files are located on binary newsgroups servers and you can find them and download them with the use of nzb files.

So you need to find the nzb files (which are kind of a torrent file, in a way) then you need to access the newsgroups themselves and use these nzb files to actually download the content you are looking for.

No swarms, no sharing, no requirement to seed your copies, no hassle, no fuss, just go and grab.

Are kind of the trackers for torrents. They are repositories of nzb files where you can search and download them. Indexers are almost always not free and also often private. To gain access to indexers you need to get a window when registrations are open, and then pay for some “VIP” access to be actually able to find and download nzb files. You will need more than one indexer usually. There are better ones (more difficult to get into) and less good ones (easier to get into). Around Black Friday is usually possible to find good deals and registration windows.

You need access to Usenet servers to be able to use your nzb files to locate and download content. Again this is not free, as all free usenet providers do not offer binary files access, so you need again to pay for access. There are many providers, different backbones and various ways to purchase bandwidth, in gigabyte packs or unlimited, and again Black Friday is a good time of the year to hunt good offers. Make sure you get servers in your part of the world for faster access.

So you got your indexers and your usenet access. You paid your money (be via gift-cards or crypto or PayPal or whatever) and got your credentials. Now you need to install a good downloader like NzbGet that will do everything for you.

Advantages of Usenet:

• Blazing fast download speeds (you will saturate your bandwidth, always)
• No sharing / uploading / seeding requirement: you grab what you want and leave
• Much more anonymity: encrypted traffic trough your ISP, no need for VPN (if any)
• Find lots of stuff, probably more than on Torrents, all formats
• Lots of multi-language stuff too
• Not throttled or filtered by your ISP

Disadvnatages of Usenet:

• You need to pay for access and for indexers
• The best indexers are ALSO difficult to get into (a bit like private torrents trackers)
• some less mainstream stuff is more difficult to find
• You will saturate your bandwidth, so you might need to set a download limit to avoid complaining from the rest of the family.
• Less common (or non-english) stuff can be hard to find

No, Usenet has nothing to do with good old News groups. That horse is dead. You can still browse some of them, the text groups at least, but it's out of scope here. I am talking of the bin usenet here: same technology, totally different access and approach.