The Encrypted Usenet FAQ

all about encrypted / secure usenet newsgroup services

Synopsis: This article describes what encrypted usenet access is. Encrypted usenet access is intended to protect the privacy of the person who is accessing the news server. Articles sent from your computer to the news server are encrypted and articles sent from the news server to your computer are encrypted. This prevents other computers from intercepting the traffic between your computer and the news server and determining what you are reading or posting.

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Requirements:

News Server. The first thing you're going to need in order to use encrypted usenet access is a news server that supports encrypted usenet. A few good candidates are the servers that we recommend elsewhere here on the site such as Giganews or Newsguy. When selecting a news provider, check and see if they charge extra for encrypted usenet. If they do, then the fee is usually fairly small, such as $5/month.

Client Software. The next requirement is your newsreader. It should also support encrypted usenet. Right now, we recommend Android Newsgroup Downloader and QuadSucker/News, both of which support encrypted usenet. If your software does not support encrypted usenet, and you're unwilling to upgrade to a product that does, then there is the alternative of 'tunneling', which we'll discuss later.

Why encrypt usenet traffic?

So let's talk about why encrypting your nntp connection is important. With a non-encrypted client and server, all of your traffic is sent in the clear between your computer and your news server. This includes the articles that you are downloading or posting, the names of the newsgroups you are accessing, and your news server username and password.

If another computer is connected to the Internet along the path between your computer and the news server, then it is conceivable that they may be able to intercept your traffic and determine what you are reading and/or posting. Even though you aren't doing anything wrong, your privacy may still be compromised. Another concern is government tapping of your ISP. While we personally do not worry much about this, some people are concerned that the government may place taps at the ISP in order to determine what you are reading or writing.

Encrypted usenet prevents these losses of privacy. Your usenet connection will be encrypted from your computer to the news server. If anyone attempted to listen in on the conversation between your computer and the news server, all they would get is useless encrypted gibberish.

Is encrypted/secure usenet similar to secure websites?

As you're probably aware, secure websites are used for ecommerce and other internet business where financial information, such as credit card numbers, need to be protected from thieves. The technology used in encrypted usenet, SSL, is identical to that used in encrypted/secure websites. It's the exact same process, but it's applied to a news connection rather than a web connection.

What news provider should I choose ?

We recommend Giganews and Newsguy. Both offer encrypted usenet support.

What newsgroup downloading software / newsreader should I choose ?

Android Newsgroup Downloader is recommended for downloading large files, such as mpeg movies, music, etc.

QuadSucker/News is recommended for downloading pictures.

How do I tell my newsreader to use encrypted usenet access?

Find the page that has the "news server host name". There should be a checkbox below it that says "Use encrypted usenet access". Turn that one on. Both Android Newsgroup Downloader and QuadSucker/News are configured similarly.

What if my newsreader does not support encrypted usenet?

There is a technique called tunneling that can be used. With a tunneling approach, you run a program on your computer that connects to the news server and provides the encryption service. Your news reader then connects to the tunneling software on your computer.

Look for a utility called 'Stunnel'. It is a free tunneling program. Consult the STunnel documentation for detailed instructions. What you want to do is setup forwarding on port 119 which is used for nntp. You probably want to setup a section in the configuration file that looks like this:

[nntp]
accept = 119
connect = news_server_name:563

also uncomment the ;client=yes line

You would then change the "news server name" in your newsreader to "localhost" or "127.0.0.1", both of which will instruct your newsreader to connect to the tunneling software rather than connecting directly to the news server.

Are the ports different for normal and encrypted usenet service?

The port number for normal usenet (nntp) is usually 119. The port number for secure usenet is usually 563. Normally you should not have to change the port number assignments in your newsreader. Your newsreader should be able to automatically change the port numbers if you tell it you want a secure usenet connection.

What about my firewall?

If you're running a firewall and it gives you trouble, make sure that you are allowing outbound connections on port 563.