UseNetServer Review
UseNetServer (UNS) offers unlimited newsgroups access for $15 a month. Couple this with 105 days binary retention, 99%+ completion rate, free SSL and global search tool and you’ve got a very solid service. Even so we cover other providers with similar stats. What makes UseNetServer stand out? Reliability and customer support. UseNetServer offers tier 1 access with 24/7 support via phone, live chat, and email.
Binary Retention – UseNetServer provides 105 days of binary retention and nearly 70,000 newsgroups. This compares well to other top Usenet providers.
Speed – we tested using a UseNetServer UNS Hi-Speed Plus account and maxed out a 6 Mbps connection with SSL enabled. Connections ranged from 4-6 Mbps during header downloads. Binary file downloads ran consistently at 6 Mbps. While we didn’t need it UNS also offers a routing tool to optimize connection speeds.
The UNS Hi-Speed Plus plan includes 20 connections versus the standard 10. If you want maximum speed pay the extra $3 a month and go with the Hi-Speed plus plan.
Alternate Ports – UseNetServer supports alternate ports to avoid bandwidth throttling. For normal access you can use ports 119 (default), 23, 25, 1720, 3128 or 8080. For secure SSL access choose between port 443, 563 and 8080. This can make a huge speed difference with some ISP’s that limit traffic based on port.
Security / Privacy – UseNetServer offers free 256 bit SSL access to all customers. We always run secure and had no problems. Note – if you start out connecting to the news.usenetserver.com server an then enable SSL make sure to change your server address to secure.usenetserver.com.
Usenet Search – the UseNetServer global search tool provides a nice online interface for searching newsgroups. It offers a number of filters to narrow down search results. Our initial Ubuntu search netted 598 results. Narrowing the search to a specific newsgroup cut the results in half. We then used the global search tool to easily create the NZB file. This method will save you time over downloading headers.
Pricing – UseNetServer pricing is simple. They offer two unlimited download plans. We recommend the UNS Hi-Speed Plus plan which includes 20 connections for $17.95/mo. They also offer a monthly 10 connection plan for $14.95/mo. Both plans offer free SSL encryption.
Support – UseNetServer is a tier 1 provider meaning they host their own newsgroup servers. This in itself means better reliability than most other services. They offer among the best customer service in the industry including 24/7 live online chat, phone and email support. We tested the online chat support and got a quick knowledgeable response.
Bottom Line – we were impressed by both the services and support offered from UseNetServer. Their pricing and retention rates are in line with other top providers. The global search tool, free SSL and 24/7 live support are icing on the cake. We suggest their monthly UNS Hi-Speed Plus access which includes 20 connections and free SSL..
