Website Fixed...
Ok, everything is back up now. Feel free to contact us if you still see anything strange going on.
Website Issues ...
We are currently having issues with our website. You may have difficulties accessing the NewsBin Control Panel, using Internet Search, and using your key to register NewsBin. We are actively working on the problem.
Sorry for any inconvenience.
Version 5.50 Release Candidate 2...
We fixed a few more minor issues that turned up. The download link and more details about this version are in the Release Notes.
NOTE: If you have not previously run a 5.50 beta, a one time conversion of your stored headers will be performed.
Please report any issues on our forums or through our Technical Support Form.
Santa just gave you a gift...
We turned on free searches for everyone running version 5.42.
Happy Holidays
Dexter and Quade.
Version 5.50 Release Candidate...
We fixed the remaining issues we considered to be critical and are making this build available as a possible release candidate. The download link and more details about this version are in the Release Notes.
NOTE: If you have not previously run a 5.50 beta, a one time conversion of your stored headers will be performed.
Please report any issues on our forums or through our Technical Support Form.
More Options with Giganews...
Our favorite news service provider has announced three new tiers of service as well as an extended trial period.
Giganews now offers additional service tiers for as low as $2.99USD per month. They have also extended their free trial to 14 days or 10GB of downloads, whichever comes first.
In these tough economic times, it gives existing subscribers an option to downgrade their service instead of canceling to save some money and provides a less expensive entry point for new users.
More information about these tiers of service can be found on the Giganews Website.
NewsBin Translations...
We are preparing a final release candidate for Version 5.50 and are ready to update the language translations of new words and phrases since Version 5.42. If you are fluent in any of the languages listed on our Translation Wiki, we would appreciate your help. We will give a free subscription (or extend your current subscription) to NewsBin Internet Search if you can help finish a section. We have an immediate need to complete our Portuguese section. If you can help, please send email to dexter@newsbin.com
Version 5.50 Beta 9 Available ...
We have fixed many open issues and along with increasing header loading performance and decreasing disk space usage for stored headers. A summary of changes is discussed in this Forum Announcement. The download link and more details about this version are in the Release Notes.
NOTE: If you have not previously run a 5.50 beta, a one time conversion of your stored headers will be performed.
Please report any issues on our forums or through our Technical Support Form.
Christmas Giveaway...
gHacks.net is giving away keys to NewsBin to 5 lucky people today. Feel free to stop by and leave a comment to get yourself in the running or, to just put in a good word for us. If you happen to win, you can give the key to a buddy as a surprise gift.
We are getting closer to final release of Version 5.50. We are currently in feature freeze and have one last critical bug to fix. The installer has also been rewritten to better handle standard user accounts and provide better uninstall support. It's prettier too. It should be available within a day or two.
Version 5.50 Beta 7 Available...
We are doing cleanup work preparing for final release of Version 5.50. This one includes a number of small bug fixes. A summary of changes is discussed in this Forum Announcement. The download link and more details about this version are in the Release Notes.
NOTE: If you have not previously run a 5.50 beta, a one time conversion of your stored headers will be performed.
Please report any issues on our forums or through our Technical Support Form.
New Troubleshooting Help Section ...
We've added a new section to our Troubleshooting FAQ addressing specific messages that may appear in the NewsBin Status tab.
If something unexpected is happening while running NewsBin, check your Status tab and then refer to our Status Message explanations to help determine what's going on. If you have messages that are not explained, please copy and paste the messages into a support request to us. We'll explain the message and add it to the list to help others who may encounter the same problem in the future.
Comcast Discontinues Usenet Access Today...
If you've been using Comcast's news server access (provided by Giganews), it stops today. If you want to continue using NewsBin, you'll need to sign up with a third party news service provider.
Eleven year anniversary...
Hard to believe NewsBin has been around for 11 years now. Today, back in 1997, was when we first started taking online orders.
To help commemorate this event, we have turned on free searches for all Version 5.42 users (and 5.50 Beta users) for the day.
Enjoy!
What are those .nb! files for?
Starting with version 5.42, NewsBin assembles posts in temporary .nb! files during download. Once the download completes, the files are moved to their final destination location and filename.
If you have .nb! files sticking around after your downloads complete, it could be due to one of these issues:
1) You queued an incomplete post for download.
2) There was an error downloading the post and it could not complete.
3) There was an error moving the .nb! file to the final destination.
Details on handling these situations are discussed in our Troubleshooting FAQ.
UsenetServer.com Headers...
If you are are a UsenetServer.com customer, you may start experiencing problems downloading new headers. They are in the process of migrating to a new server farm and all their article numbers are now different than what NewsBin has stored.
Read this NewsBin Forum Post explaining how to delete your stored headers if you are experiencing problems.
If you only download using NZB files or our NewsBin Internet Search service then, this change will not effect you.
Sending email to us...
If you need to contact us for technical support or sales related issues, please use our Technical Support Form. We have found that email sent directly to us from web based email providers like gmail, hotmail, and yahoo are getting filtered out as spam. If you have contacted us recently and have not heard back, please try again via the technical support form.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
Problems downloading files from your Search results?
We've been receiving reports that many items returned in the Internet Search results cannot be downloaded. In most cases, this is because the search results span 240 days to match the news service with the longest retention, Giganews. If you are not using Giganews, you can limit your search results by using the Age setting on the Search tab. The other option is to sign up with Giganews, then you will be able to download anything that is returned in the search results.
Free Internet Search Day is over ...
Now that you are hooked on using our Internet Search Feature, you can sign up by logging in to the NewsBin Control Panel. You have the choice of our Standard plan providing 300 searches per month for $2.50 per month or, our Unlimited plan for $5.00 per month.
Free Internet Search Day ...
To celebrate matching Giganews retention of 240 days with our Internet Search, we are giving all registered users free searches for the day. It is only enabled for version 5.42 so, if you are still running an older version, this is a good time to upgrade. All upgrades from version 4 and above are free.
To use NewsBin Internet Search, click the Search button and make sure it is set to "Internet" in the Search tab. Enter a search term and then click on "Find" to initiate a search of Usenet.
New Tutorials Available...
We have updated our tutorials for Version 5.42. There are now demonstrations of installing NewsBin, running for the first time, entering your registration key, and changing your news server address. We welcome your comments on these Tutorials and suggestions for additional tutorials through our Technical Support Form.
Having problems downloading?
We are still getting support requests from people having problems downloading only to find out they are using their Internet Provider's crippled news server. The Internet Providers have not been very good at informing their users about the status of their servers. We found out that sbcglobal.net just gives a "too many connections" error now. Roadrunner returns garbage causing a "bad message id" error in NewsBin. If you are using your Internet Provider's news server and are seeing strange errors, check to make sure they are not owned by AT&T, Time Warner, Sprint, or Verizon. Here is a list of domains we know are affected:
| AT&T | Sprint | Time Warner | Verizon |
|---|---|---|---|
| att.net | sprint.net | rr.com | verizon.net |
| ameritech.net | sprintlink.net | brighthouse.com | |
| flash.net | nysernet.net | ||
| pacbell.net | |||
| prodigy.net | |||
| sbcglobal.net | |||
| swbell.net | |||
| wans.net | |||
| snet.net | |||
| nvbell.net |
If your domain is listed above, you will need to sign up with a third party news service if you want to continue using NewsBin. Our list of recommended services is here.
AT&T drops alt.binaries newsgroups...
AT&T has joined Roadrunner, Sprint, and Verizon in dropping binary newsgroups. If you are an AT&T or BellSouth customer and you want to continue using NewsBin, you will need to sign up with a third party Usenet provider like the ones we recommend here.
Reminder for Roadrunner, Sprint, and Verizon Customers...
If you are getting server error messages using Roadrunner (or other Time Warner owned Internet Provider), Sprint, or Verizon news servers, it's because they have limited or eliminated access to their Usenet servers. If you want to continue using NewsBin, you'll have to sign up for a third party news service provider. Our list of recommended news services is here.
System Maintenance Complete...
Everything went smoothly. If you notice any strange issues with Internet Search, entering your Key info, or ordering products, please contact us using our Technical Support Form.
System Maintenance Tonight...
We are performing system maintenance at 2:00am EST, June 28.
Internet Search, Registration, and Order Processing will be unavailable for up to 10 minutes starting at 2:00am.
This MOTD page, the NewsBin Forums, and the main website will be unaffected.
We'll make another announcement after maintenance is complete.
Time Warner/Road Runner Stops their Usenet Service Today...
If you are a Time Warner customer (which includes Road Runner), you will start getting errors today if you are using their news server. If you want to continue using NewsBin, you'll need to pay for Usenet access separately now.
We have a list of recommended news services from which to choose. One of them, Giganews, is offering a special deal to Time Warner customers to provide Usenet access. You will get 1/2 price off the first month of their top tier Diamond account or 20% off the first month of their other accounts.
Road Runner to Discontinue Usenet Access...
Road Runner and all other Time Warner owned Internet providers are discontinuing Usenet access as of June 23, 2008. One of our recommended Usenet news services, Giganews, is offering a special deal to Time Warner customers to provide Usenet access. They are offering 50% off your first month of their Diamond access plan or 20% off your first month for all other accounts.
Even if your Internet Provider is still offering newsgroup access, consider signing up for one of our recommended news services for better service and no interruption should your provider choose to drop newsgroup access as well.
More ISP's to drop newsgroups...
Recently, Verizon, Sprint and Time Warner have announced they will no longer provide full Usenet access to their customers. They are not blocking Usenet access if you pay for a commercial news service. If you aren't using one already, consider signing up for one of our recommended Usenet news services so you can continue using NewsBin. All our recommended services are better than what your ISP was offering anyway.
NewsBin 5.42 Released...
Version 5.42 has been in pre-release stage all week with no new reports of problems. If you haven't downloaded it already, it is available here. It has signficant performance improvements for header download speeds over previous versions.
To encourage upgrades to version 5.42, we have increased our Internet Search trial limits. Everyone now receives 10 free searches every month. If you find that you may average 10 searches per day, you would be happy with our new service level of Internet Search for $2.50 per month which includes 300 searches per month.
New Internet Search subscribers you can sign up for either the Unlimited or Standard Search plans by logging in to the NewsBin Control Panel then selecting the product you want.
If you have any questions, you can contact us through our Technical Support Form.
New Internet Search Tier Available
We now offer a new service level of Internet Search for $2.50 per month. This is half the price of our unlimited search plan. The new Standard Internet Search plan includes 300 searches per month and is available in six month increments.
If you are not currently a subscriber to Internet Search, you can sign up for either the Unlimited or Standard Search plans by logging in to the NewsBin Control Panel then selecting the product you want.
If you have any questions, you can contact us through our Technical Support Form.
Version 5.42 Pre-Release
We have fixed a few more bugs and performance issues that existed in version 5.41 and are ready to release 5.42. If the following fixes/improvements directly effect you, consider downloading this version now and let us know if you have any issues.
Changes:
The download links to both the 32 bit and the 64 bit versions are in this Forum Announcement.
Please use our Technical Support Form if you have any questions or issues.
Version 5.41 Released
We have released this revision to address some issues that were discovered after the 5.40 release was made last month. In addition to the fixes, this released inherited some usability and performance improvements, for example the post list shows new posts sooner when you double-click on a group to both load stored headers and download new headers. More details about the changes and the download links to both the 32 bit and the 64 bit versions are in this Forum Announcement.
Please use our Technical Support Form if you have any questions or issues.
Free Search Day is over...
We hope you had a chance to try some Free Internet Searches yesterday to see how quickly you can find what you are looking for on Usenet. If you start going into withdrawal not having access to Internet Search anymore, you can sign up by logging in to the NewsBin Control Panel. The charge is $5.00USD per month with a 3 month minimum subscription.
We will continue to have Free Search Days from time to time so, if you choose not to sign up, keep an eye on this MOTD for the next announcement. Maybe sometime in June.
Free Search Day!
To encourage upgrades to Version 5.41, registered users will get free Internet Searches all day today. The free searches are only turned on for 5.40 and 5.41. If you are still running Version 5.35, you will not receive searches unless you are already a subscriber to NewsBin Internet Search.
Details about the changes as well as the download link for Version 5.41 are in the Release Notes. A link to download the 64 bit version is in the forum announcement. Please use our Technical Support Form if you have any questions or find any issues.
Version 5.41 Release Candidate
We are doing a quick-turn release to fix a few issues that came up after 5.40 was released last week. The biggest issue was that the MOTD would not display for Vista users. We took the opportunity to make some reliability enchancements and fix a couple of small bugs that were uncovered. There was also a performance enhancement that should eliminate the lag some people have when selecting many large multipart posts for download.
Details about the changes as well as the download link are in the Release Notes. A link to download the 64 bit version is in the forum announcement. Please use our Technical Support Form if you have any questions or find any issues.
Version 5.40 Release
We officially released version 5.40 on April 25th. Since then, a few minor issues have been uncovered so we are working on a version 5.41. The most noticeable problem is that this MOTD screen doesn't show when running on Vista. It will work if you launch NewsBin from the installer or, if you run as Administrator.
Of course the people having the problem won't see this message so hopefully they'll visit our Forums and find out about it there.
The other issues with 5.40 are relatively minor. If you find anything with this version that you feel does not make it better than version 5.35, we'd like to hear about it. Contact us either through our Technical Support Form or through the NewsBin Forums.
Version 5.40 Release Candidate 4 Available...
This one has minor changes to the RC3 release in preparation for the final release. The changes and the download link are in the Release Notes. A link to download the 64 bit version is in this forum announcement.
Please report any issues through our Forums or by using our Technical Support Form.
Version 5.40 Release Candidate 3 Available...
This will become the final 5.40 release unless there are any serious issues uncovered. If you've been holding out waiting for 5.40 to stabilize, now's the time to jump in.
The main improvements over version 5.35 are:
The full history of changes since version 5.35 are in the Release Notes. You'll find the download link for 5.40 there, too.
Please report any issues through our Forums or by using our Technical Support Form.
Version 5.40 Release Candidate Available...
We are close to final release of 5.40. There are a few more known bugs but for the most part, this will become the final release unless more bugs are uncovered.
Check the Release Notes for a list of changes and to get the download link. A link to the 64 bit version is in the Forum Announcement. Please report any issues not covered in the release notes to our Forums or by using our Technical Support Form.
March 17, 2008, 8:30 a.m.
Bypassing Duplicate Detection...
A technical support request we receive frequently is from people who need to download a file that they have previously downloaded but NewsBin is failing the file as a duplicate.
To bypass NewsBin's duplicate detection system, queue the file to the download list by using ctrl-y or, right-click and select "Add to Download List - Bypass Filters".
You can turn off the duplicate detection under Options/Advanced an disabling the "Use Signature Cache" option. In versions prior to 5.35, the option is in the Utilities menu.
We hope to have a new version of 5.40 beta available within the next couple of days. It now has full auto repair and decode of files posted with accompanied PAR2 files.
Tips for Version 5.40 Beta users...
Starting with 5.40, NewsBin now makes use of a database to speed loading and processing as newsgroups get larger and larger.
Databases do require some maintenance. If you feel things are slowing down, you can get snappier post loading performance again by setting the Max Post Age to match your news server's retention, select all the groups, then right-click and select "Purge to MPA". This removes all the posts you've deleted and compacts the data files. You can watch the progress from the Status tab.
You can also set the MPA to a much lower value to clean out old records and reclaim disk space
Database maintenance will be automated before the final 5.40 release.
The current beta is available for download here. We also have a 64 bit version. Only registered users can run beta releases.
Version 5.40 Beta 15 Available ...
It's been awhile since we announced a new beta. This one is probably the most stable version so far. It includes lots of cleanup things getting ready for final release. Beta 15 now will now automatically repair files if enough PAR2 files have been downloaded. Check the Release Notes for all the details and the download link. Report any issues in our. Forums or by using our Technical Support Form.
Version 5.40 Beta 12 Available ...
We've increased the reliability of the new "Chunkless Downloading" method as well as improvements to AutoRAR (now named AutoPAR). There are also more options for turning off some of the confirmation screens NewsBin pops up, like when you sort the Groups or Download Lists.
NOTE: You need to empty your current download list before upgrading to Beta 12. The download list database format has changed.
More information about this and prior beta releases, as well as the download link, are in the Release Notes. Please report any issues in our Forums or by using our Technical Support Form.
Version 5.40 Beta 11 Available ...
This version now uses "chunkless downloading" which means multipart posts are assembled in place instead of individual chunks (parts) being downloaded and assembled after they all complete. It gives an immediate reduction in RAM usage and eliminates the delay some people see when the files are assembled (pause icon in the download list).
More information about this and prior beta releases, as well as the download link, are in the Release Notes. Please report any issues in our Forums or by using our Technical Support Form.
Oh, and Happy New Year!
