Content Warning! Copyright infringement, pornography, spam, viruses and censorship
Now that you have access to Usenet, you have access to a wealth of information and files of all types. However, you should use your best judgment whole browsing Newsgroups and downloading files, especially if you plan to teach minors how to use Usenet.
Copyright Issues
Depending on the country you live in currently, you may be breaking the law by downloading files that are subject to copyright without permission. An even worse offense is posting files of this type. Just because you are paying for premium Usenet access, it does not mean you are paying fees for the use of all the content that may be posted by third party users to Usenet.
Pornography
Just like the Internet itself, Usenet has a gigantic amount of pornography. For the most part, Usenet users are pretty good at keeping their Newsgroups "on topic", meaning that pornography is kept away from groups it does not belong in. However, it's impossible to police this content on Usenet and sometimes spammers will try to advertise their pornography to the audience of a friendly group. Spam is fought in many ways on Usenet, but just like the Internet, it is impossible to get it all or even make a big enough dent in it.
Some Usenet providers allow you to block access to groups if you sign in. You can also remove groups from the Group list. If you want to allow your children to use Usenet, then it is strongly recommended that you delete all the erotica newsgroups from the list and install web monitoring software that may prevent children from downloading NZB files that reference pornographic content.
Spam
Be vigilant with what you see being advertised and pushed in Newsgroups. Just like the Internet, spammers use Usenet in attempt to lure people into either buying useless products or buying into useless services, or sometimes just flat out steal your money. Use the same vigilance you would have while opening your email.
Viruses
If you download a lot from Usenet, make sure you have a good anti-virus installed. Beware of .EXE files mostly. Scan any files you are unsure of with an anti-virus. A good freeware anti-virus package is AVG.
Censorship
Given the warnings I just gave about content you might find on Usenet, you might be tempted to ask why is it that Usenet providers like Giganews cant install some form of censorship system that aims to block copyright content, more spam, viruses or pornography content. The answer is simply that it really is next to impossible. The massive amount of information posted to Usenet servers on a daily basis is so vast that it would cost far too much money to employ staff to moderate it all. However, the underlying issue is that most long-time Usenet users take pride in the lack of censorship enforced on the community. Most consider censorship to be a worse scenario than the current threats of Usenet use.
Do not be deterred by these warnings, most Usenet users have a very positive experience using the service, and you more than likely will too.
Finally
It looks like we have come to the end of this article. Congratulations if you read it all. This article is incomplete and will be constantly updated so please check back. If you need more assistance, you should visit our Discussion Forums.
