Is usenet just a malware minefield now?

dwell

pics?
Oct 9, 1999
5,185
2
0
First rule of usenet...

But seriously, what happened? It seems like the whole place is just 4k .exe files named to scam idiots into downloading viruses/malware. IIRC this was never the case before. Is the RIAA/MPAA/SPA turning it into a virus minefield or what?!?
 

Lonyo

Lifer
Aug 10, 2002
21,938
6
81
I always just used a search site and got .nzb's of whatever I was looking for. Hard to get 4k .exe files that way when you are downloading sets of .rars
 

halik

Lifer
Oct 10, 2000
25,696
1
0
Originally posted by: FelixDeKat
Who downloads programs there anyway? Sure it was cool back around 1999 to go to alt.binararies.pictures.tits.small.hairy.tasteless but now you have /b/ so whats the point? ;)

ps. I also loved alt.barney.die.die.die


I applaud to the veracity of the above.


Plus usenet has been kicked by most ISPs now and torrent is still free.
 

GagHalfrunt

Lifer
Apr 19, 2001
25,284
1,997
126
Usenet is the haven of the intelligent, the graveyard of the idiot. Usenet is the most Darwinian facet of the internet. There are no training wheels and nobody suffers fools gladly. If you know what you're doing you can find just about anything quickly, efficiently and safely. If you're a moron you're doomed.
 

tokie

Golden Member
Jun 1, 2006
1,491
0
0
NZB's and a good host get you where you need to go. The only limitation for me is my ISP's 60GB cap :(
 

Locut0s

Lifer
Nov 28, 2001
22,205
43
91
Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt
Usenet is the haven of the intelligent, the graveyard of the idiot. Usenet is the most Darwinian facet of the internet. There are no training wheels and nobody suffers fools gladly. If you know what you're doing you can find just about anything quickly, efficiently and safely. If you're a moron you're doomed.

Assuming you are paying for a server with good retention and completion of course.
 

GagHalfrunt

Lifer
Apr 19, 2001
25,284
1,997
126
Originally posted by: Locut0s
Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt
Usenet is the haven of the intelligent, the graveyard of the idiot. Usenet is the most Darwinian facet of the internet. There are no training wheels and nobody suffers fools gladly. If you know what you're doing you can find just about anything quickly, efficiently and safely. If you're a moron you're doomed.

Assuming you are paying for a server with good retention and completion of course.

I went for years without a pay server. Before I switched away from OOL their usenet service was very very good. Only about a weeks retention in the binary groups, but completion was outstanding. With .pars I never needed a backup server.

Now that I'm on U-Verse I lost usenet entirely and turned to torrents instead. Still no trouble getting anything I need. If you're lucky with your ISP it's entirely possible to have a great usenet experience without paying for a premium service.
 

MustISO

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
11,927
12
81
That's been going on for probably about a year. They post the same virus as a crack or keygen for every program out there. Not sure why the usenet companies don't delete that crap but it's easy enough to stay away from.
 

Modelworks

Lifer
Feb 22, 2007
16,240
7
76
Originally posted by: MustISO
That's been going on for probably about a year. They post the same virus as a crack or keygen for every program out there. Not sure why the usenet companies don't delete that crap but it's easy enough to stay away from.

The majority come from .de addresses and are tiny files, so it is easy to filter.
Usenet in years past was heavily policed by isp. Post a binary in a text group and you could lose your isp account.

Easynews used to be one of the better providers that filtered content out, but they were not cheap. Not sure what they do now.

 

SludgeFactory

Platinum Member
Sep 14, 2001
2,969
2
81
There was some of that before, but it has definitely gotten worse. It seems like half the cracks I download have trojans embedded in them. The filenames are not as blatantly obvious as they were when it was just daily postings of Britney-Nude.scr.

Still, I have yet to get infected by anything from usenet in 10 years. I've had by far worse luck following links to shady image/file hosting sites, last year I was browser hijacked and infected twice, before I learned about using NoScript.
 

coloumb

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
4,069
0
81
Usenet is way under the radar of the piratebays, napsters, etc of the world....and I love it. :)
 

alkemyst

No Lifer
Feb 13, 2001
83,769
19
81
Originally posted by: Chris
First rule of usenet...

But seriously, what happened? It seems like the whole place is just 4k .exe files named to scam idiots into downloading viruses/malware. IIRC this was never the case before. Is the RIAA/MPAA/SPA turning it into a virus minefield or what?!?

welcome to at least a decade ago.
 

pcslookout

Lifer
Mar 18, 2007
11,958
156
106
Originally posted by: Chris
First rule of usenet...

But seriously, what happened? It seems like the whole place is just 4k .exe files named to scam idiots into downloading viruses/malware. IIRC this was never the case before. Is the RIAA/MPAA/SPA turning it into a virus minefield or what?!?

Only the stupid fall for all those small .exe viruses.
 

pcslookout

Lifer
Mar 18, 2007
11,958
156
106
Originally posted by: coloumb
Usenet is way under the radar of the piratebays, napsters, etc of the world....and I love it. :)

Not anymore really. Link

That company was pretty stupid what they did though. What did they think would happen lol ?