Newsreader Configuration
If you are installing a newsreader, check the link below for some more popular readers.
Other Free Compatible Newsreaders
We have included instructions below for several of the more popular newsreaders available.
SABnzbd runs a local web interface, so it'll look the same no matter what OS you're on. Here's how to get started.
1.) Download
and install the client (For Windows, it's an installer like any
other app; for Mac OS, it's a .DMG)
2.) Start it up. It should open a browser window to
a control panel-esque page, clearly labeled as SABnzbd.
3.) Navigate to the "Config" Page and click
"Servers"
4.) Enter the server settings your Usenet provider gave you after signup
5.) Staying in the "Config" page, click "Folders"6.) Choose where you want downloaded files to
go, and where you want the temporary files to live before they're
finished downloading.
7.) Choose a "Watched" folder. This how SABnzbd
will know what you want it to download. Make it a place that's easy
for you to save to, from a browser.
That's it! Now just leave SABnzbd running, and we'll start to explore Usenet. Feel free to play around with more of SABnzbd's options, like the themes, one of which is featured on this article's top image, but follow this general rule: if it's not totally obvious to you what an option changes, you should probably ignore it. The only thing you might have to worry about outwith this setup procedure is enabling an SSL connection, if your ISP is throttling your download speeds. More on that here.
Finding Those Files
Now that you've got access to Usenet, and the right tools to draw
those sweet, sweet files from it, it's time to dive in. Since Usenet
in the raw is an incomprehensible mess, something has emerged called
the Newzbin, or NZB standard. NZBs are a lot like torrent files:
They're little pointers that contain information about all the
little scattered pieces of a given download, and which give clients
like SABnzbd everything they need to make downloading look seamless
to users. To "explore Usenet" is really to explore indexes of NZBs,
and to do that, you need a good search engine. The best is at
Newzbin, from the people who
invented the NZB format. Unfortunately, it too is paid, and
currently invite-only. Instead, you should use one of the decent
free alternatives, like NZBs.org,
Binsearch or
Newszleech. Searching takes
some practice, but once you get a sense of how people name stuff
'round these parts, it's a breeze.
Once you find your NZB, download it to the directory you marked
"Watch" in SABnzbd. Alternately, you can just download it to
wherever you want, and add it to SABnzbd at the program's homepage,
under "Add File". Now check on your SABnzbd queue, where you should
see something like this:
It's working! And yes, it's really going that fast. If it's
not downloading, you may need to check your server settings:
Sometimes ISPs block the default port, 119, meaning you'll have to
use another one that your provider supports. 8080 is a common one,
as is 1818. Refer back to step four for this; changing it should
only take a second.
SABnzbd takes care of all that nasty .RAR rejoining and extracting for you, so once the download is done, your designated download folder should have a fully-cooked, ready-to-watch/listen/run file waiting for you.
Outlook Express
Comes free with Internet Explorer 4.x
Open Outlook Express
Select Tools --> Accounts
Select the "News" tab
Click the "Add" button and select "News"
Enter a display name of your choice
Enter your email address
Enter
news.meganetnews.com as the news server and check the box next to "My news server requires me to log in"Enter your user name in the "account name" field
Enter your password in the "password" field
Click Finish
The program will prompt you to download the groups for the server, you can do that now if you wish.
WinVN
Freeware product with basic features including multiple
server support. Download is
available at Tucows FAQ available at
WinVN Hompage
1. Open up WinVN.
2. Select Communications from the Configure menu. If it is a first install
then the
Communications Options will open automatically.
3. Fill in the news server address information: news.meganetnews.com.
4. Fill in the Authorization Information. Be sure check Save Password.
5. Fill in the SMTP Server information. Preferably use fake info. Use SMTP
protocol.
6. Fill in your appropriate time zone.
7. Click OK.
8. Select Connect to Server from the Network menu. If it is a first install
then you will
automatically attempt to connect to the news server.
9. Click Yes when prompted to retrieve the latest group list from the
server. If it is a first install then you will automatically attempt to
retrieve the list from the server.
10. Select the groups you want to subscribe.
11. Select Subscribe Selected Groups from the Group menu.
12. Double click on a group to open a new window to retrieve the list of
articles.
13. Double click on an article to open a new window to retrieve the body of
article.
14. To decode an article, select the articles parts by clicking on the
individual article.
Then select Decode Selected Articles from the Articles menu.