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UseNetServer VPN Review

January 19, 2015 by

UseNetServer now offers VPN access as an optional add-on to their popular Usenet service.  They went a step further in offering our readers free VPN with the UNS High-Speed Plus Special.  You can enjoy free VPN access by signing up for a year of unlimited Usenet for $95.40.  That works out to just $7.95 a month for unlimited Usenet and VPN.  In a moment I’ll show you just how much value the VPN adds to your account.

UseNetServer VPN Deal

I’ve looked at hundreds of VPN services over the years for our VPNSP.com review site so I know what to look for in a good VPN service.  I can tell you with 100% certainty that UNS is offering access to one of the best VPN networks in the world.  This isn’t just a cheap add-on to their existing Usenet offering.  It’s fast, reliable VPN access as you’ll see in just a moment.  You’ll be hard pressed to find a VPN service with better performance.

I won’t bore you with too many technical details.  Just the basics.  The UseNetServer VPN service offers free client software for Windows and Mac users.  The VPN uses 256-bit AES encryption to secure your data and ensure your online privacy.  Members have access to 70 servers in 17 countries around the world.

Here’s a full list of server locations:

  • United States – Ashburn, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Phoenix, San Jose, Seattle.
  • United Kingdom – London
  • Netherlands – Amsterdam (10 servers)
  • Australia – Sydney
  • Belgium – Brussels
  • Brazil – Sao Paulo
  • Denmark – Copenhagen
  • France – Paris
  • Germany – Frankfurt
  • Hungary – Budapest
  • Japan – Tokyo
  • Poland – Warsaw
  • Singapore – Singapore
  • South Korea – Seuol
  • Spain – Madrid
  • Sweden – Stockholm
  • Switzerland – Zurich

Let’s start by answering some common questions I think our readers might have about the UNS VPN:

1.  Do you need a VPN to secure your Usenet account?

No.  UNS includes SSL with their high-speed plus plan so you don’t need VPN for Usenet.

2.  If you don’t need VPN for Usenet then why add it?

A good VPN can help stop your ISP from throttling or spying on you, block advertisers from following you online, protect you on Wi-Fi hotspots and unblock content restrictions around the world.  That’s just a few of the benefits a good VPN like UNS has to offer.

3.  Does UseNetServer log VPN usage?

UNS doesn’t record, monitor or store logs of your VPN activity.

4.  Does the UNS VPN allow P2P / torrent access?

Yes, UseNetServer allows P2P traffic on their network.

5.  How many connections does UNS allow for their VPN?

Install the VPN software on as many computers as you like and connect on up to two devices at a time.

6.  Does UNS VPN include NAT firewall?

Yes, UNS includes NAT firewall free of charge to all VPN users.

Now that we have a few questions out of the way let’s dive right into UseNetServer’s VPN service.  I started by installing the free UNS client software on my Windows 8 system.  Here’s a look at the user interface:

UseNetServer VPN client

As you can see I connected to a UNS VPN server in Amsterdam.  The software is very easy to use.  I simply chose the server I wanted to connect to along with the protocol and clicked connect.  Without going into too much detail I would suggest using OpenVPN (TCP or UDP) for the highest level of encryption.  I get the best performance using OpenVPN UDP for streaming sites like Netflix or BBC iPlayer.

Performance was very good on the servers I connected to which included locations in the United States, Canada and throughout Europe.  You can expect any VPN to reduce your Internet speed some as the data is encrypted.  With that said UNS does an excellent job with a minimal hit to performance.  If you experience slower speeds when accessing content from sites like Netflix the VPN will stop the ISP throttling and actually increase your connection speed.  It can make a huge difference when you’re trying to stream movies and tv shows.

As you can see UseNetServer put a lot of time and effort into it’s VPN offering.  It stands alone as one of the best values in the VPN space.  Getting it free with their $95 annual UNS deal is by far the best value in Usenet as well.  I highly recommend the service.  If you can afford the annual account it will save you a lot over purchasing Usenet and VPN separately.  If not you can always add VPN to any UNS plan at a very reasonable price.

Sign up for the UNS High-Speed Plus Promo to try UNS VPN.  Annual sign ups include free VPN service.

Filed Under: Usenet Providers, UseNetServer

NewsgroupDirect Winter Block Sale

January 9, 2015 by

NewsgroupDirect (NGD) is ringing in the new year with a block deal for new and existing members.  You can pick up a huge 2 TB block account by 11:59 PM EST on January 13, 2015 and save 70% off the regular price of $200.  Pay just $60 for 2 terabytes of non-expiring Usenet access.  You can visit the NGD Deal of the Week page to save.  Remember to sign up by the end of the day on January 13th to take advantage of the 70% discount.

NewsgroupDirect Winter Sale

NewsgroupDirect typically sells their 2 TB blocks for $200.  During their Winter Block Sale you can save $140 which is 70% off the normal price.  Block accounts from NGD are non-expiring so you can use the 2 TB block until it’s depleted.  NewsgroupDirect has news servers in the United States and Europe.  With support for SSL and up to 50 simultaneous connections allowed.  The offer is open to new and existing members.

How do block Usenet accounts work?

  • Blocks are different than unlimited accounts.  Most users are very familiar with unlimited plans meaning you can use the service as much as you want for a given monthly fee.  Blocks are different.  You are only billed once and receive a “block” of Usenet downloads.  In this case 2 TB of access to NewsgroupDirect.  Rather than being charged monthly you can enjoy the block until all 2 TB is used up.

Need more than one 2 TB block?  Strong!  If so NewsgroupDirect will let you pick up multiple blocks during the winter deal.  We use a block account for fills and backup purposes.  Our block is much smaller though.  You will also receive a discount offer from GhostPath which provides personal VPN access around the world.

Filed Under: NewsgroupDirect, Usenet Providers

NewsDemon End of Year Sale

December 31, 2014 by

Christmas may have passed but there are still some great deals to be had this holiday season.  Take some of that gift money and splurge on a Usenet account that includes VPN access.  The team at NewsDemon is celebrating the season with an End of Year Sale.  You can enjoy unlimited Usenet access and online storage for just $9.99 a month or add unlimited VPN and pay just $12.99 a month.  Both deals are a great value.

NewsDemon End of Year Sale

We’ve been using NewsDemon for years and highly recommend their Usenet service.  You’ll be hard pressed to find a faster, more reliable network than the one used by NewsDemon.  Their Unlimited Usenet special account comes with access to 2,300+ days of binary retention along with a free copy of News Rover newsreader, 50 connections and unlimited online storage for just $9.99 a month.  The Unlimited Plus deal includes all the features listed above plus unlimited VPN access for just $12.99 a month.

Whether you choose the Unlimited Access account or the Unlimited Plus is really based on whether or not you want VPN access.  If you do the difference of $3 a month is a great value.  NewsDemon partnered with SlickVPN to offer members full access to their network of VPN servers around the world.  They have a custom Windows client to help you connect to any server location.  SlickVPN supports OpenVPN, PPTP and L2TP protocols.

Here’s a look at the End of Year Promotion pricing compared to the retail price for each plan:

  • Unlimited Usenet + online storage for $9.99 a month (retail price is $13 a month)
  • Unlimited Usenet + online storage + VPN for $12.99 a month (retail price is $18 a month)

A big thank you to the NewsDemon team for offering our readers the special end of year promotion.  The VPN offer is one of the best values around.  We’d like to end by wishing everyone a happy, safe new year!

Filed Under: NewsDemon, Usenet Providers

Free Mystery Gift from Eweka

December 23, 2014 by

Eweka is in the giving mood this holiday season.  They are currently running a promotion that gives all new members a mystery gift.  Enjoy discounts on Eweka Usenet service along with the possibility of winning free VPN access.  The Eweka Holiday Promotion is currently live and will run through December 26th.  That gives you a couple more days to sign up.  I highly recommend Eweka to anyone seeking a Dutch Usenet provider.

Eweka Holiday Promotion

If you’re looking for a newsgroup provider that rivals the large U. S. companies then we recommend Eweka.  They are the only Dutch option with retention in line with Newshosting and other leading U. S. providers.  Eweka offers access to their tier-1  network for a very fair price.  You can enjoy unlimited Usenet access with free SSL and speeds up to 100 Mbit from just €7,50 a month during their high speed promotion.

Here’s a closer look at the Eweka account offerings:

You’ll find that Eweka offers several hundred days more retention than other European Usenet providers.  If you want the best speed and retention then we highly recommend their service.  Remember that the Mystery Gift Promotion will end on December 26th.  You can still take advantage of the free high speed upgrade after the 26th but if you want the mystery then you’ll want to sign up before the holiday deal ends.

Filed Under: Eweka, Usenet Providers

UseNetServer Holiday Special

December 18, 2014 by

The team over at UseNetServer is having some extra fun this holiday season.  They’re giving new and existing members who don’t already have the VPN feature a free month of VPN access.  Better yet they are offering free VPN with unlimited Usenet for just $95.40 a year.  You can also sign up for monthly Usenet with a free month of VPN for just $10 a month.  The UNS holiday promotion is live and will run through December 31st.

UNS Holiday Promotion

If you haven’t had a chance to try UseNetServer I strongly suggest you sign up for an account to see how much UNS has to offer.  Even before the free VPN promotion UNS was one of the best values in Usenet.  Now it’s without a doubt the best deal for those who go with their annual promotion.  The VPN access alone is worth more than the price you’ll pay for Usenet and VPN combined.  Connect on two devices at a time for VPN.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the UNS holiday special with VPN:

  • UNS High-Speed Plus (unlimited Usenet) – $10 a month with a free month of VPN, add VPN after that for $4.99 a month
  • UNS High-Speed Plus (unlimited Usenet + free VPN) – $95.40 a year (no additional cost for VPN)

As you can see the price of the monthly special is $10 which is well below the retail price.  Those who sign up for monthly access will receive a free month of VPN access and can continue using the VPN for just $4.99 a month.  Where things start getting even more exciting is with the annual plan.  Pay just $95.40 for a year of unlimited Usenet access and receive full access to their network of 70 VPN servers across 17 countries free of charge.  That’s an outstanding deal from UNS.

On the Usenet side UNS has been listed at or near the top of our rankings for years now.  UseNetServer offers over 2,300 days of binary retention and growing.  Along with NNTP servers in the United States and Europe.  You can use up to 20 connections but you won’t need that many.  All members have access to UNS global search.  The search engine will help you find newsgroup content.  The free VPN is icing on the cake.

Read our UseNetServer review to learn more or sign up during the UNS Holiday Promotion and enjoy!

Filed Under: Usenet Providers, UseNetServer

The Benefits of VPN with Usenet

December 12, 2014 by

The Newshosting team rolled out a VPN service earlier this year. Readers of the NGRBlog ask us frequently if whether or not using a VPN is worth it for Usenet users. The answer is absolutely. The combination of Usenet and VPN has a lot of benefits.  A good Usenet account will give you access to over 100,000 newsgroups and several years of posts, while the included VPN service helps protect your privacy and unblocks geographic restrictions.

VPN with Usenet

Let’s start by taking a look at a few of the benefits offered by Usenet and VPN.  I’ll use Newshosting as a reference since they rank #1 on our site, and offer both services at a very reasonable price.

Benefits of Usenet – Newshosting gives you access to over 2,300 days of binary posts. That’s over six years of binary retention and growing.  Newshosting packages include free client software, so so you can search, preview and download content.  You can also use it to schedule automated searches so you never miss a thing. . The service also comes with 256-bit SSL to help secure your Usenet connection.

Benefits of VPN – When you add VPN service to your Newshosting account it extends the privacy protection beyond Usenet.  You can use the free Newshosting VPN client to connectto any of their VPN servers.  Members gain unlimited access to VPN servers in 17 countries.  The service also supports OpenVPN, PPTP and L2TP connections, and the account comes with two simultaneous connections. That’s just a brief list of benefits offered to Usenet members that add VPN to their account.

I’ve used Newshosting for years and started using the VPN when they introduced it earlier this year.  Having tested more VPNs that I can count for our vpnsp site, I can tell you that Newshosting’s VPN is top notch.  You can tell they put a lot of time and effort into the service.

Just like their Usenet service, Newshosting provides fast, reliable VPN access.Let’s talk about the advantages of VPN and what it adds to your Usenet experience.  We highlighted the benefits of both Usenet and VPN above, but we haven’t looked at what a VPN will do for you.  First and foremost, it will help protect your online privacy.  Enabling SSL in the Newshosting Usenet client will secure your newsgroup access, but the VPN will encrypt all of your data.  It will add an extra layer of privacy to all your online activities.  It will also unblock geographic restrictions for sites in other countries.

I normally start my VPN before going online.  That gives me an IP address in whichever country I choose and an encrypted connection to protect my privacy.  From there I may visit my favorite NZB sites and forums.  When ready I’ll fire up the Newshosting client and queueup some Usenet content.  While it downloads I may browse the web, watch some videos or stream Netflix.  One of my favorites lately has been BBC.  If you connect to a server in the United Kingdom it opens access to BBC iPlayer, giving you access to a lot of original programming.

Usenet and VPN are a great combination.  I originally started using VPN years ago to help protect my privacy.  That’s something I’ll continue doing for many years to come.  Over time,I’ve found more and more uses for VPN, like accessing BBC content and unblocking sites incountries around the world.  It will help you avoid ISP throttling of services like Netflix, and stop advertisers from following your every move online.  The list goes on and on.  You can visit Newshosting to learn more about their VPN.  They have a good FAQ section with thoughtful aanswers to common questions.  Give their VPN a try and let me know what you think.

Filed Under: Usenet Providers

Newshosting Christmas Alter Ego Quiz

December 10, 2014 by

Newshosting is giving fans a chance to find their Hollywood inspired alter ego this holiday season while earning entries to win free Usenet access.  Newshosting will be giving away five 1-month Usenet accounts in the promotion.  The Christmas Alter Ego Quiz is live and will be active through December 26th.  You can earn additional entries by connecting with Newshosting on Facebook and Twitter.

Newshosting Xmas Alter Ego Quiz

Kudos to the person who came up with the questions, or more importantly some of the answers for the Alter Ego quiz.  For example:

  • How do you plan on spreading Christmas cheer?
    • One possible answer – “Oh, no I’m not spreading anything this year.  I plan on wearing protection.”

One more example of the true genius of the persona making up the quiz:

  • What do you want most this Christmas?
    • One possible answer – “To hook up with the hottest person at the holiday party.”

Whether or not you win one of the free Usenet accounts (and I hope you do) the quiz is hilarious and well worth the minute it takes to complete it.  Though it took me a little longer since I had to stop to laugh several times.  Cheers to the Newshosting team for giving us some extra entertainment this holiday season.

If you’re new to Usenet or haven’t had the chance to try out Newhosting this is a great time.  They are offering our visitors unlimited Usenet access for $9.99 a month.  Even better you can sign up for a full year of unlimited Usenet access for just $99.99 and Newshosting will include free VPN service.  That’s a great gift for someone else and a perfect way to reward yourself this holiday season.

Don’t forget to take the Christmas Alter Ego Quiz before December 26th to find out which Hollywood inspired alter ego best matches your personality.  Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.  Best of luck hooking up with the hottest person at the holiday party, hahaha! or maybe hohoho!

Filed Under: Newshosting, Usenet Providers

Newshosting Show Your Spirit Giveaway

December 3, 2014 by

Now that Black Friday and Cyber Monday are behind us it’s time to get ready for the holidays.  Newshosting is celebrating the season with a fun giveaway this year.  It’s all about getting into the holiday spirit.  Share photos of your holiday decor for a chance to win up to a year of free Usenet access.  You can visit their contest page to learn more and join in on the fun.  Entries will be accepted from December 1st through December 12th.

Newshosting Show Your Spirit Giveaway

Here’s a list of prizes that will be given away in Newshosting’s Show Your Spirit contest:

  • 1-Year XL Powerpack Subscription
  • 6-Month XL Powerpack Subscription
  • 3-Month XL Powerpack Subscription

The Powerpack XL account is the top plan from Newshosting.  It offers unlimited Usenet access with up to 60 connections and 10 GB of monthly web Usenet access through Easynews.  Giving you both the free Usenet client software from Newshosting along with access to the Easynews web interface.

To be eligible, photos must be submitted through the Woobox contest application or to pr@newshosting.com manually. All entries will be screened by the Newshosting Social Media Team from Monday, December 1, 2014 through Friday, December 12, 2014. Final photo selections will be made by the Newshosting Social Media Team on Friday, December 12, 2014. Photos will be posted to the Newshosting Facebook page for community voting. The community voting period ends on Friday, December 26 at 11:59 PM ET.

Visit Newsgroup Reviews to learn more about Usenet and follow us @NewsgroupRevs for the latest deals.

Filed Under: Newshosting, Usenet Providers

NewsgroupDirect Black Friday Usenet Deals

November 18, 2014 by

NewsgroupDirect is home of the popular Terabyte Tuesday offer.  This time around they are offering a series of deals for Black Friday.  The latest deal just went live and includes 1 TB Usenet blocks for $30 and 500 GB blocks for $18.  Visit NewsgroupDirect by Nov 20th to take advantage of this offer.  They will be rolling out more specials in the days to come so stay tuned to their Black Friday page for more details and to sign up.

NewsgroupDirect Black Friday deals

NewsgroupDirect is offering discounts on their popular block accounts along with their Power 250 accounts at the time we’re writing this post.  I’d like to quickly explain the difference between the two plans.  The 1 TB and 500 GB block plans are non-expiring blocks of Usenet access.  You can use them until the full amount is depleted.  While the Power 250 plan includes 250 GB of downloads a month and is billed on a monthly basis.

Here are some details on the NewsgroupDirect Usenet service:
– Unlimited speed downloads
– 2,285+ days of binary retention
– 2,200+ days of text retention
– Free News Rover newsreader
– Free 256-bit SSL encryption
– Up to 50 simultaneous connections
– Access to over 107,000 newsgroups
– Server farms in the US and Europe
– 99%+ completion rate
– 24/7 tech support

Read our NewsgroupDirect review to learn more or visit their sales page for more details and to sign up.  Remember that the deals will be changing in the days to come as we get closer to Black Friday and Cyber Monday.  We’ll bring you all the great deals so keep an eye on our Black Friday deals page for the latest.

Visit Newsgroup Reviews to learn more about Usenet and follow us @NewsgroupRevs for the latest deals.

Filed Under: NewsgroupDirect, Usenet Providers Tagged With:

Final Version of Unison is Free

November 12, 2014 by

The title could have just as easily read “Panic stops development of Unison” but the Panic team was nice enough to release one more version and make it free to download.  Unison 2.2 is a nice Usenet client for Mac.  It includes the most requested feature which is multi-connection downloads.  You can download the latest 2.2 version from the Unison site.  The software is automatically unlocked and does not require a serial number.

Unison message

Here’s a copy of the message the Panic team posted to their blog on November 6th:

Unison — our excellent OS X app for accessing Usenet Newsgroups and the many wonders and mysteries contained within — has reached the end of its road after years of faithful service.

First, a brand-new Unison 2.2.

Unison’s end is bittersweet. The market for a Usenet client in 2014 isn’t exactly huge. But if you know Panic,  you know we do our very best to never drop things awkwardly — we like to leave our apps in a good place for our (very) valued users.

So we’re excited to release a nice, final update to Unison.

Unison 2.2 adds the #1 feature request for Unison: multi-connection downloads for much faster transfers. It also adds a lot more Retina assets for more beautiful browsing on newer machines, and fixes many little bugs and quirks.

It’s a great update for all Unison fans.

Now free, and unsupported.

While we can no longer work on Unison or offer support for it, the good news is it’s also free. This version of the app will be automatically unlocked for all users, no serial needed.

Just download it right there:

Download Unison 2.2 Now

Unison 2.2.zip (10 MB)

(If you recently bought Unison from us directly in the last month, please e-mail us and we’ll prepare a refund.)

What about Unison Access?

For now, Unison Access will continue to work just as it does today for all current subscribers. That said, we’re no longer accepting new signups. We figure we’ll migrate people to another service at some point in the future. If that happens, we’ll contact you by e-mail.

Thank you sincerely.

Our deepest thanks to each and every one of  you who used, bought, or enjoyed Unison. We really enjoyed making this app and providing it to you. We hope it serves you well into the future!

A big thanks to the Panic team for releasing a new version of Unison and making it free for everyone to enjoy.  We hate to see them discontinue development of Unison but certainly appreciate their efforts over the years.  Panic has some other cool Mac and iOS apps that are definitely worth checking out.

Visit Newsgroup Reviews to learn more about Usenet.  Follow us @NewsgroupRevs for the latest deals.

Filed Under: Newsreaders, Unison
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