Mysterbin Down : Help Finding Alternatives

You may have noticed recently that the Mysterbin site is down.  We’re sorry to report that the Mysterbin team has decided to shut down the site permanently.  On November 19th they posted “Mysterbin is ending today” on Twitter.  Without Mysterbin a number of visitors have asked about alternatives.  We’ll list several options in a moment.  We always enjoyed the site and wish it’s developers the best in their future endeavors.

More and more we are favoring Usenet clients with built-in search features.  Our favorite is Newshosting.  You may know them for their popular Usenet service but they also offer a nice newsreader.  Compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux.  Along with downloading newsgroup posts, the Newshoting client will allow you to search Usenet and even preview content.  You can enjoy unlimited access for $9.99 a month or $99 a year.

We also enjoy the search capabilities of Easynews.  You may know this Usenet service as well.  If not let us catch you up real quick.  Easynews is a web-based Usenet service.  You can use their web interface to search for Usenet content, preview and download from newsgroups.  All without the need for any newsreader software.  Easynews offers all new users a 14 day free trial.  They also offer unlimited NNTP access for $9.95 a month.

Along with Newshosting and Easynews, there are some other quality newsreaders that offer Usenet search as a premium option.  We like the search features offered by Newsbin Pro and NewsLeecher.  Each of which cost around $4 to $5 a month in addition to the cost of the client.  Both offer free trials to test the search feature.

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

Usenet Guide : Avoiding Password Protected RAR Files

Password protected RAR files are annoying to say the least.  We’re not going to say that 100% of the passworded files are spam but most certainly appear that way.  Or worse as many posts instruct the downloader to visit a site.  Enter survey information, join the site, accept certain offers, etc.  Not to mention the viruses and malware that can be attached.  For those reasons we choose to avoid password protected posts.

If you agree and would like to disregard passworded RAR files then read on as we’ll provide some tips for finding the passworded posts before downloading.  Saving you lots of time and bandwidth / Usenet account usage.  With an additional tip to help avoid RAR-in-RAR archives.

Step 1 – Mysterbin Advanced Search – No Password

You’ll want to start with a quality Usenet search site like Binsearch or Mysterbin.  In the case of Mysterbin you can choose whether or not to include password protected files in the search results.  Simply visit https://www.mysterbin.com/advsearch, click on the Advanced Search page and choose  “No Password”.

In addition you might want to check out Nzbmatrix as their members often post comments related to password protected posts.  The site is also a good source of information on the quality and usability of newsgroup posts.

Step 2 – Newsleecher Leech Tweaks – Pasworded RAR-in-RAR Archives

Those who gain from password protected RAR’s have found a way around the Usenet search engines blocking passworded posts.  To avoid detection they are including a non-passworded RAR archive with a password protected RAR inside.  Staying one step ahead of most nzb sites and newsreaders.  However the Newsleecher v5.0 beta 5+ (download) has a new RAR-in-RAR Archive feature.

To access the new feature click on Tools – Settings.  Then choose the Leech Tweaks under Download.  Here you have the option to pause downloads that include password protected RAR-in-RAR archives.  Some other useful tweaks above let you tell Newsleecher how to treat PAR files.  Choosing to “Auto Pause PAR Files” can save you even more bandwidth when repairs aren’t necessary.

Linux fans will also want to check out URD (Usenet Resource Downloader) as we understand the Usenet browser will automatically detect encrypted RAR’s and cancel the downloads when found.

We hope our guide will help you avoid password protected RAR archives.  If you’re having additional issues with performance or completion check out our list of top Usenet providers.  As not all Usenet services are created equal but you can find quality, unlimited Usenet access for under $10 a month.

Mysterbin Advanced Search : Match Accuracy

Earlier this month Mysterbin released a cool new feature for their popular Usenet search engine.  Refining the advanced search panel and adding a “Match Accuracy” option to help with search result accuracy / relevance.  The NFO, password and completion features will help you narrow down search results as well.  Visit the Mysterbin Advanced Search page to try out the new “Match accuracy” feature.

The new “Match accuracy” meter let’s you choose between the best accuracy and the most results with four options to choose from.  In addition to a number of other advanced features to help in finding your desired content.  Let’s take a quick look at Mysterbin’s advanced search features.

Match accuracy:

  • Best match
  • Normal
  • Fuzzy
  • Desperate

Content type (choose one or multiple):

  • Video
  • Audio
  • Executable
  • Disk image
  • Picture
  • Archive
  • Par2
  • Other/unknown

File size (choose one or multiple):

  • Less than 1 MB
  • 1-10 MB
  • 10-100 MB
  • 100 MB to 1 GB
  • 1 GB to 4 GB
  • Over 4 GB

Manual file size:

  • Set your own min / max file size for search

Group:

  • Refine search a specific newsgroup

Max age:

  • Slider between 1 and 985+ days

Options (choose one or multiple):

  • With NFO
  • No password

Completion:

  • 100% complete
  • 99%+ complete + Par2
  • 99%+ complete
  • Everything

We tested a number of queries and found the advanced search features to be quite helpful.  We especially like the match accuracy, NFO, password and completion options.  Cheers to the Mysterbin team for continuing to enhance and innovate the search engine.  For those who haven’t had a chance to try Mysterbin you’re missing out.  Heading on over to Mysterbin.com and enjoy free access to their advanced Usenet search features.

Search and View Inside RAR Archives with Mysterbin

Mysterbin is a new Usenet search engine.  The NZB site – Mysterbin.com – launched in September 2010 and is currently in Beta.  You can use Mysterbin to search binary newsgroups free of charge.  Features and tweaks are being added on a regular basis.  Follow Mysterbin on Twitter for the latest news.

We test new Usenet search engines on a regular basis and are rarely impressed.  So many of the newcomers just try to copy popular sites like Binsearch, NZBMatrix or NZBIndex.  Not the case for Mysterbin.  They offer something original and for that reason we suggest you give the site a try.

So what does Mysterbin offer that other NZB sites lack?  The ability to search and view inside RAR archives.  In addition you can see if the archive is password protected before downloading.  Those feature alone will help save binary newsgroup users a lot of time and frustration.

Stay tuned for more Mysterbin news as the site continues to expand features and grow in popularity.  In the meantime you can read our Mysterbin review to learn more or visit Mysterbin.com and try it out for yourself.