Recommended Newsreader Software

Free software : Paid (commercial) software : Web based

Free Newsreaders

The first question potential users of newsgroups usually ask is what is the best newsreader to use. I always recommend freeware newsgroup readers as these applications are usually user-friendly and self-explanatory.

Once you get a newsreader application, I highly recommend using my current provider at Newsgroup-Binaries.com as they allow access from anywhere you can get Internet access, and all the newsreaders listed below can be used with this service. I've compiled a list below of currently available newsreader applications:

 Agent (Forte, Inc - Windows) arguably the most popular newsreader. Supports yEnc and SMTP authentication. Has both paid and free (Free Agent) version.

Alexandra (Object Factory - NextStep) written for an operating system that was purchased by Apple.

Getbinnews (Frederic Bricout - *nix) adware application that will extract multi-part binary files (mp3, jpg, gif, mpg, asf, avi, divx) encoded with MIME, UUencode or yEnc format.

Gigi's Own Newsreader (SourceForge - Windows) simple and intuitive multithreaded offline NNTP Client for the .NET platform totally written in C#.

GrabIt (Ilan Shemes - Windows) Application for selecting, downloading and the decoding of binary attachments in posts.

Halime (Imdat Solak - MacOSX) public domain newsreader no longer being developed, but is still freely available for download.

MicroPlanet Gravity (was MicroPlanet, Inc.; now SourceForge.net- Windows) recently converted from freeware to open source. Another popular newsreader created back in 1996 with numerous ways to adjust the screens.

Microsoft Outlook Express (Microsoft Corp - Windows) included as part of the download of Internet Explorer. If you have it installed, it's usually under the IE menubar "tools/mail and news/read news. User friendly; has wizard for configuration but does not decode yEnc.

MT-NewsWatcher (Simon Fraser- MacOS) easy to use filtering, searching and sorting features. Viewing and saving binaries from newsgroups easy, and works transparently across multiple news servers. Also available in French.

News Xpress (Ken Ng - Windows) although no longer be updated, another easy to use news reader.

NewsEngine (SourceForge - *nix) news reading program written in Java.

newsgrab (SourceForge - *nix) shell program to downloaded encoded multipart binaries.

NewsMole (SourceForge - Linux) perl newsreader supporting multiple newsservers, yEnc and assembles multipart messages.

NewsPro (NewsPro - Windows) newsreader better suited to veterans of Usenet. Powerful but reading of directions is important. Free and paid versions available.

NewsWatcher-X (Electric Fish - MacOSX) "carbonized" version of MT-NewsWatcher.

nget (SourceForge - POSIX, Windows, MacOSX) command line NNTP file downloader. Automatically joins multipart postings for easy retrieval, even substituting parts from multiple servers and newsgroups.

OSXnews (SourceForge - MacOSX) open source news reader developed in Objective C and Cocoa.

Pan (Public - *nix, MacOSX, Windows) supports yEnc binary encoding, offline newsreading, and article filtering.

PCast (Right Click - Windows) uses newsgroups to find pictures and download them.

PicMonger (SourceForge - Linux) scans available posts for UUencoded or MIME base64-encoded binaries (e.g. JPEG image). When a binary is found, it is automatically decoded back to its original form.

Power-Grab (SourceForge - Windows) 32-bit windows application that allows you to download files from a news server.

QNNTPGet (SourceForge - Linux) Python program for downloading multipart binaries from newsservers.

slrn (SourceForge - *nix, OS2, MacOS, VMS, Windows, BeOS) scoring rules to highlight, sort or kill articles based on information from their header. Offline reading is possible.

Tin (Public - *nix) threaded NNTP and spool-based Usenet newsreader.

WinVN (Mark Riordan - Windows) one of the first newsreader applications developed. Can also send email via the SMTP or MAPI protocols.

Xnews (Luu Tran - Windows) A little trickier to use, but powerful. Supports yEnc and multi-server configurations.

yanoff (SourceForge - PalmOS) allows NNTP downloading of news articles, posting articles and scoring.

Yencee (SourceForge - POSIX) command line program for posting binary files to newsgroups, using the yEnc encoding.

Commercial Newsreaders

These newsreader applications tend to have more features, especially for *binaries* downloaders who need flexibility, automated downloading and speed to get the most out of Usenet.

 Agent (Forte, Inc - Windows) arguably the most popular newsreader. Supports yEnc and SMTP authentication. Has both paid and free (Free Agent) version.

AutoPix (Browing & Assoc. - Windows) automated NNTP downloader/decoder/previewer.

BinaryBoy (BinaryBoy - Windows) useful for downloading pictures, MP3, and software. Can decode yEnc, BommaNews, Base64, Quoted-Printable, UUencoding and QP Lite. Recently added NZB support.

Express NewsPictures (ExpressSoft - Windows) tool for downloading and viewing pictures, audio, and video from newsgroups.

GroupsAloud (NextUp Tech. - Windows) unique news reader that has ability to speak Usenet postings aloud.

Hogwasher (Asar - MacOS) offline and online newsreader capable of connecting to multiple news servers.

MacSoup (Stefan Haller - MacOS) offline reader for Usenet newsgroups and Internet e-mail. Better suited to users already comfortable with newsgroups.

MaxNews (MAX Programming, LLC- MacOSX) Usenet newsreader supporting reading and composing both news articles and e-mail messages.

News File Grabber (rsbr Software - Windows) lets you download all kinds of binary files (photos, movies, pictures, and sounds). Supports many coding schemes (including yEnc) and can combine multi-part posts.

News Rover (S & H Computer Systems - Windows) automates the process of decoding file attachments and reconstructing those files split across multiple posts.

Newpicture Miner (MyMiner.com - Windows) search and download pictures from newsgroups.

NewsBin (DJI Interprises - Windows) application specifically geared toward automated binary newsgroup batch downloading. Supports yEnc and multi-part binary decoding.

Newsgroups Pictures Downloader (Keronsoft - Windows) downloads and presents images from the picture newsgroups.

NewsPro (NewsPro - Windows) newsreader better suited to veterans of Usenet. Powerful but reading of directions for usage important. Free and paid versions available.

NewsReactor (DaanSystems - Windows) tool to download binaries from Usenet newsgroups. Progam is shareware and can be used 50 times before having to register.

NewsShark (WMHSoft -Windows) developed to download large binary files from Usenet. Has trial version.

Ozum (OzInsight - Windows) fully programmable news robot and freeware autoposter.

Picture Patrol (Brainchild Software - MacOSX, Windows) designed to download pictures from Usenet newsgroups.

Pluckit (The DeKaf Co. - Windows) automatically searches newsgroups for binary attachments (pictures, MP3, exe, MPG, AVI, RAR, ZIP, etc.).

SBNews News Robot (SBSoftware - Windows) award-winning program for automated downloading of information from binary newsgroups. Has anti-spam features and fully automatic unattended operation. Works with all types of binary files, including images (jpeg/gif/bmp), archives, movies, sound files, etc.

QuadSucker/News (SBSoftware - Windows) multithreaded news downloader. Supports yEnc and all other message posting formats (uuencode, base64, etc). Handles all possible types of attachments: GIF, JPEG, MP3, MPG, RAR, ZIP, and more.

TiFNY (tifny - Windows) downloads and organizes binary files from Usenet newsgroups. Powerful navigation of downloaded files in full database with the author, date, file size, file type, and subject from the original postings.

UsenetGrab (East Bay Tech - Windows) has a web-browser-like interface that makes it a great way to get started using newsgroups.

Unison (Panic - MacOSX) feature-rich reader allowing easy picture and text newsgroup viewing.

Web based newsreaders

Usenet-Access.com - allows access to all newsgroups using any web browser. Text-based and binary newsgroups available. Highly recommended!

Google Groups (was DejaNews) - free newsgroup access to text-only forums (no binaries). Excellent search functionality with posts dating back to 1995.