USENET, Internet and Viruses

Viruses, spyware, and other malware are almost always in the news. They can spread frighteningly fast, cause a great deal of financial damage, and compromise the privacy of those affected. The war between virus writers and security experts goes on and on, and every time one side advances, the other seems to find a way to thwart it. The USENET system is very different from the Internet in terms of viruses and other threats, and if proper attention is paid to security, it is much more secure.

The differences

There is a big difference between how you access information on USENET and on the Internet. Internet pages are multimedia affairs. When you visit a website, many different types of content may be uploaded with or without your consent. For example, you may need to press a play button to play a video on a web page, but the annoying Flash ads that have appeared all over the web will play with or without your consent, depending on your browser’s security settings.

On the Internet, your browser’s security settings, your antivirus software, and your firewall help keep malicious software off your computer. You may also end up adding software like script blockers to your browser to prevent malicious software from automatically downloading to your machine. USENET is much less complicated than this.

USENET is a text-based system. This means that there is no way to force load something on your computer via a web page on this system.

The power of the text

When you open a USENET article, you’re simply looking at what the person who posted it wrote in text form. You are not viewing a web page where the creator could put scripts or other types of technologies that can be used to force a download on your machine. That being said, the cartel could certainly attach a malicious file to a post as a binary, but it would be your choice whether or not to download and open it.

The text-based system also makes performance on USENET services very fast. While the Internet has become increasingly complex over time, USENET has stayed true to its roots. The system hasn’t gone on to include some of the nastier features of the Internet, so there is an aesthetic benefit in addition to the security benefit provided by the USENET system.

USENET is powerful and flexible, but it’s also a bit more primitive than much of the web, which gives it a security advantage over many other services. If you are interested in trying USENET, keep in mind that the system requires a newsreader and that articles you download may have virus-laden files attached. The best way to avoid this is to join newsgroups that are moderated and where the moderators will simply remove posts that pose a threat to their readers. USENET newsgroups tend to be very good at this.