Current News
June 8, 2009, 2:00 p.m.
Common Support Request...
A common support request we receive are from people reporting username/password errors when connecting to their news server. In the Logging tab, the message will look something like this:
502 Bad username and/or password
If Newsbin was working fine then this message starts popping up, it's not a Newsbin configuration problem. Many news servers will report a username/password error for reasons other than the information being wrong. Usually it is due to a credit card expiring and they were unable to bill you for the next month. It can also be due to you hitting some account limitations. The solution is to check with your news service provider and make sure your account is in good standing.
If you have just reconfigured Newsbin and you get this error, make sure you are using the login information given to you by your news service provider and not trying to use the login information you may have receive from us to access the Newsbin Control Panel. That will not give you access to a news server.
More details about this error and potential causes are in this Troubleshooting FAQ.
Previous Messages
June 2, 2009, 1:30 p.m.
Antivirus and Firewall Software Conflicts...
The most common support issue we receive is due to antivirus or firewall software either blocking or interfering with Newsbin. If you are having problems downloading, the first thing to do is click on the Logging tab within Newsbin and look for errors. A 10060 or 10061 error is almost always a firewall blocking Newsbin.
With the release of Newsbin version 5.53, more antivirus software has been conflicting a different way. If the AV software is configured to scan incoming NNTP data (which is lumped under email in some scanners), it could induce download errors. So far, we have confirmed reports of this happening to people running Avast, Ashampoo, and Malware Bytes. There are several solutions that have worked for everyone reporting the issue.
1) Configure the AV software to ignore the NNTP data stream.
2) Turn on SSL if your news server supports it.
3) Switch to an alternate port if your news server supports it.
This forum thread shows a report of the problem and an explanation of why it is happening.
May 29, 2009, 1:00 p.m.
Giganews Special for Newsbin Users...
Giganews has agreed to extending their 50% off special to include all their unlimited plans for the first two months of service. They include a 14 Day/10GB trial so you can give them a try and if you choose to cancel before the trial is over, you don't pay a dime.
Click here to sign up. We get a few bucks when you sign up so you're helping us, too.
May 20, 2009, 12:30 p.m.
Version 5.53 Released...
We have released Version 5.53. It is an incremental release over 5.52 that offers better performance, reliability, and some new functionality. A brief summary of improvements include:
- Performance optimizations for loading stored headers and processing single part posts.
- New logic to better handle possible conflicts with anti-virus software.
- Configurable progress bars to show progress of certain tasks.
- Built in header compression compatible with Giganews servers (Giganews users no longer need to run the Accelerator to get header compression)
More information and the download links for both the 32 and 64 bit versions are available in the Release Notes. This is a free upgrade for registered users.
Please report any bugs or ask questions through our Forums or through our Technical Support Request form.
May 18, 2009, 11:00 a.m.
Possible Conflicts with Anti-Virus Software...
Anti-virus software has always had the potential to impact Newsbin's performance but there are two conflicts that have been reported recently:
1) Avast Anti-virus can interfere with compressed header downloads. The report and resolution are discussed in this Forum Thread. While this report was specifically with Avast, it's possible that other AV software could cause similar problems. The solution is to turn off the "Scan inbound news" or equivalent setting.
2) If your AV software is scanning the Newsbin download folder, it can temporarily prevent Newsbin from completing processing of the temporary .nb! files it creates. The latest beta version will retry instead of failing now but, this can lead to many files in a "paused" state accumulating in the Download tab. If you see this happening, consider configuring your AV software to either ignore the download folder or, ignore .nb! files explicitly.
May 13, 2009, 2:30 p.m.
Version 5.53 Beta 7 Available...
We are ready for wider testing of the current beta release of version 5.53. This has many performance and reliability improvements over version 5.52. It also has built in header compression compatible with Giganews servers. A complete list of changes along with the download link are available in the Release Notes.
Please report any bugs or ask questions through our Forums or through our Technical Support Request form.
May 11, 2009, 9:30 a.m.
Newsbin Development Notes...
Quade has been examining high speed downloading on his test server and was downloading at a sustained speed of 100 mbps with Newsbin. He has made changes to disk access to the temporary .NB! files to make it more efficient for the growing number of people with faster connections like FIOS.
He's considering adding a speed test mode where Newsbin will download but, not write the data to disk. This would let you isolate whether speed bottlenecks are network or disk related.
The next beta that comes out will also have changes to the NB! rename routines. We've noticed through our technical support requests that virus scanners sometimes interfere with renaming
the NB! file to the real file name. The new code will re-try the rename for up to 8 seconds.
May 6, 2009, 4:30 p.m.
The Truth about Simultaneous Connections...
Contrary to popular belief, more is not better when it comes to the number of connections you configure Newsbin to use to talk to the news server. I just proved this theory today while at the data center performing server maintenance. I plugged my laptop into a 100mbps ethernet jack and was downloading at 60mbps with 10, 8, and even 4 connections. I upped the connections to 15 and my speed actually dropped to 40mbps.
There is a point of diminishing returns when it comes to the number of connections you run and each machine/network is different. Your best bet is to experiment because if your Internet provider or news service provider caps per connection or if you have alot of network latency, you may really need more connections. Start with 3-4 connections and then increase connections until you get the full speed that your Internet connection provides, and no more.
May 5, 2009, 7:30 a.m. (GMT -5)
Server Maintenance Complete...
If you didn't noticed any problems then, we picked a good time to do this. Everything should be back to normal now. If you notice any strange issues registering Newsbin, performing Internet Searches, or in ordering a key or Search subscription from our website, please contact us through the Technical Support Form.
May 5, 2009, 6:00 a.m. (GMT -5)
Server Maintenance...
We are performing server maintenance this morning, there may be periods of time where you cannot register, perform an Internet Search, or purchase a key between 6:00am and 7:00am, EST. If you are having issues outside of this timeframe, please contact us through the Technical Support Form.
May 4, 2009, 12:40 p.m.
Common Technical Support Requests...
Possibly our most common technical support request is from people who cannot get a connection to their news server. Usually it is due to an invalid (or missing) news server address or, a personal firewall is blocking Newsbin. If you click on the Logging tab (Status tab prior to version 5.5x), there should be more details on why you aren't connecting.
We have a list of troubleshooting tips specifically for this issue in our FAQ.