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Re: Source/program (#432) by Anonymous at 2002-05-23 09:00:39

hi, i've used newshunter. i found about a dozen news servers but they all required usernames so i could not get access. i don't know how to make newshunter find only news servers that are really 'open' (no usernames/passwords) and also allow posting.

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Re: Source/program (#434) by KingRamze at 2002-05-25 14:24:36

This is strange behavior for newshunter. I'd say you haven't set up the program correctly. My first thought is that your tester may not be set to scan for specific news groups and to check that they will allow the ability to both read and post. Here's how my NewsHunter program is set up: First, I put in my news server that I am trying to test, then, I make sure the "Use XHDR command (faster)" box is UNCHECKED. I don't know why, but when checked, it skips a lot of possible servers. Then, I click on newsgroups and add as many newsgroups as I like, but not necessarily ones I use. I add the newsgroups that the largest number of people are likely to post to like... alt.test, alt.jobs, etc. The more postings from random people, the more likely you are to find new newsgroups you haven't found before. Now, here's probably where your biggest problem is. Under the Tester tab, in test conditions, check "at least one newsgroup must exist" and "at least one newsgroup must be readable", then click on newsgroups and add in the newsgroups that you wish to subscribe to when you use a news server. I also have "save server even if it fails the test" checked so that it doesn't re-try that server again unless I tell it to. The number of testers and timeouts will differ depending on your internet speed, I'm on cable, so I've set the testers to 40 and timeout to 10 seconds, but slower speeds should stick to fewer testers and a larger timeout. The only other thing I can think of is perhaps you haven't been running both the finder AND the tester. Simply running the finder will find newsgroups, but not test them. Run the tester after it's done. There are 3 boxes to click on. One finds, one tests, another finds and tests. Running Windows XP, I've found that the "find and test" needs some help. I have to close the find window before the test runs... also, after the test, the program hangs when you try to close it, so I have to use CTRL+ALT+DEL to close it, but it still works fine. After having run the find AND test, you should see a list of servers with address, time, and result on the screen. The result has a code in it. 200 means the news server is open, (and if you checked the same boxes I did, at least one newsgroup you selected in the tester can be read and posted to) 201 means the news server is open (and the same as above except you can't post). -100 means the news server is probably open, but it doesn't have the groups you were looking for. If you have seen this, and simply not seen any w/ 200 or 201 beside them, it's because either your finder isn't trying to filter enough newsgroups to start with (Pick better groups with large number of posters!) or your tester's rules are too strict (unlikely with the problem you described, but still... try it with similar settings to mine if you like). I've been using NewsHunter for nearly a decade. I've got nearly 13,000 servers in the program (likely many are gone by now and others never existed b/c of fake names or names being cut off by bad headers) I'd say maybe only 500 of those are open, and less than that are worth using. maybe 6 or 7 really good ones with newsgroups I like that have a good speed. So, you can see how it may take a while on a slow connection to find a good one ;-) I used to be able to find a new one that was really good about once a week, now that's becoming more and more rare. That is why I was hoping to see the newzbot source code, so that I could use it to more aggressively scan for open nntp servers. my best source lately is in the newsgroup alt.free.newsservers best of luck! On 2002-05-23 09:00:39, Anonymous wrote: : hi, : i've used newshunter. i found about a dozen news servers but they all : required usernames so i could not get access. : i don't know how to make newshunter find only news servers that are : really 'open' (no usernames/passwords) and also allow posting.

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Re: Source/program (#436) by Anonymous at 2002-05-28 05:06:43

hi, i get a couple of dozen newsgroups that are 200. then i have to manually go try each one and they all want usernames and passwords, so they are not really 'open'. i do not have usernames and passwords so i can't get into any of the newsgroups that i found. i assumed there would be a way for newshunter to test to see if a username was going to be needed for access. I just have not figured out how to do it yet. -------------- On 2002-05-25 14:24:36, KingRamze wrote: : This is strange behavior for newshunter. I'd say you haven't set up the : program correctly. My first thought is that your tester may not be set : to scan for specific news groups and to check that they will allow the : ability to both read and post. :

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Re: Source/program (#437) by KingRamze at 2002-05-29 01:52:45

Well, that's the strangest thing I've ever heard... lol... I've seen a FEW that were 200's that were open and allowed posting (maybe 8 in total), but not reading groups. (I REALLY hate those!) I can't remember ever getting a positive "200" that required a username or password. hmm... I'm sorry, I don't know what setting to tell you to check. It would seem that having "at least one newsgroup must be readable" checked would prevent you from getting a 200 if the server requires a username and password. (because the server SHOULD respond with a code saying just that instead of allowing newshunter to test a read from the newsgroup) I'd check to make sure that option is checked in the tester, make sure that the newsgroups you want to read are in the tester... and... also, just make sure you're running NewsHunter 4.00P5 Build 490 (the latest... and unfortunately last as the programmer no longer is supporting the project). The only other thing I can think of is perhaps you ran the test, and sometime after that, the servers closed, so if you highlight all your 200's and click "test selected servers" maybe those 200's will change to some other code instead? In case those servers are just "flukes", maybe you could type in a few for me & let me check 'em w/ my copy of newshunter. if I get the same behavior, then maybe it's just those servers. If I don't, then maybe we can figure out what setting is wrong on yours? I dunno. Just tryin' to help out. :-) This brings me to another reason why I'd like the source code for Newzbot. I hate those false 200's that allow posting, but don't have any articles to read. I think Newshunter was a GREAT program, and it's unfortunate it's no longer supported. Newzbot seems to be the only hope for programming a better system of searching and cataloging open servers. Just FYI, all my 200's at the moment are post-only servers. I have ONE 201 server. Thankfully, it's a true open nntp server, but it only allows a few people on at a time in the middle of the night... lol. I bet it doesn't stick around long. I'm sure it's just because I like the binaries groups and most open servers don't carry them, though. In all the time I've used newshunter... on Windows 95, 98, Me, and now Windows XP, I've never gotten a news server that was a 200 that asked me for a username and password when I tried to connect to it. (I use Xnews as my newsreader btw... it's free, and works great :-) Hope everything works out. On 2002-05-28 05:06:43, Anonymous wrote: : hi, : i get a couple of dozen newsgroups that are 200. then i have to manually go : try each one and they all want usernames and passwords, so they are not : really 'open'. i do not have usernames and passwords so i can't get into any : of the newsgroups that i found. : i assumed there would be a way for newshunter to test to see if a username : was going to be needed for access. I just have not figured out how to do it : yet. : -------------- : On 2002-05-25 14:24:36, KingRamze wrote: : : This is strange behavior for newshunter. I'd say you haven't set up the : : program correctly. My first thought is that your tester may not be set : : to scan for specific news groups and to check that they will allow the : : ability to both read and post. : :

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Re: Source/program (#438) by Anonymous at 2002-05-30 08:01:39

hi, i made it so one newsgroup has to exist and be readable. I only use about 7 or 8 binary newsgroups anyway. so now it doesn't give any false opens. all it finds is the usenet.com and the other names that one place uses, which doens't allow binary posts, btw.... it is just a matter of time before finding good posting servers for binaries. i've found them before..manually...by looking at messages that were posted and finding their server etc. servers are just very tight these days...the default position must be to not allow any strangers in to post where it used to be the default position was anyone could get in. ----------- On 2002-05-29 01:52:45, KingRamze wrote: : Well, that's the strangest thing I've ever heard... lol... I've seen a FEW that : were 200's that were open and allowed posting (maybe 8 in total), but not : reading groups. (I REALLY hate those!) I can't remember ever getting a : positive "200" that required a username or password. hmm... I'm sorry, I don't : know what setting to tell you to check. It would seem that having "at least on

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Re: Source/program (#440) by KingRamze at 2002-05-30 16:03:13

Glad to hear it's working now. Yes, open servers are a rarity... even more rare are ones that carry binary groups. I presently have 2 and one of those doesn't carry all postings to the groups, the other only lets 500 people on at a time (when you consider thousands are trying to get to it, that ain't much ;-) I think years ago, IRC was the major distribution method of warez, moviez, etc. and now that newsgroups are more often carrying them, that sucks up a lot of bandwidth. The major universities are under a bandwidth crunch (where most free servers used to be), and so are companies, so I'm sure the first thing to go is outside use of their servers... and/or stop carrying the binary groups to prevent people from using newsgroups to transfer large files. I'm sure most setups probably ask for permission settings upon install, but most do use the default "open to everyone" for testing purposes. alt.free.newsservers is where such machines that require testing are often posted for a limited ammount of time. They might be up for a week, or maybe a month, then close forever, but it's better than nothing & I can switch servers once a month w/ out any trouble :-) I'm sure the 2 servers I have (besides the one my ISP gives me which doesn't carry everything) will be down in a couple months and I'll be searching high and low for a new one. I almost wish I had a port scanner to sniff out the port the nntp servers are on, make a list, and then feed that into newshunter to test... hmmm... too bad newshunter doesn't release their source code & I'd have to hack whatever database structure its files are stored in to do that. Well, best of luck to ya. ~KingRamze On 2002-05-30 08:01:39, Anonymous wrote: : hi, : i made it so one newsgroup has to exist and be readable. I only use about 7 or 8 : binary newsgroups anyway. : so now it doesn't give any false opens. all it finds is the usenet.com and the : other names that one place uses, which doens't allow binary posts, btw.... : it is just a matter of time before finding good posting servers for binaries. : i've found them before..manually...by looking at messages that were posted and : finding their server etc. servers are just very tight these days...the default : position must be to not allow any strangers in to post where it used to be the : default position was anyone could get in. : ----------- : On 2002-05-29 01:52:45, KingRamze wrote: : : : Well, that's the strangest thing I've ever heard... lol... I've seen a FEW that : : were 200's that were open and allowed posting (maybe 8 in total), but not : : reading groups. (I REALLY hate those!) I can't remember ever getting a : : positive "200" that required a username or password. hmm... I'm sorry, I don't : : know what setting to tell you to check. It would seem that having "at least on

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Re: Source/program (#1578) by Anonymous at 2006-07-30 03:01:08

On 2002-05-21 03:24:44, KingRamze wrote: : I've noticed that the FAQ has never included a link to the source : code. One of those things you'd "get around to" ;-) I've been using : the old program called newshunter (version 4.0) for many years to : search for open news servers, but I've always found your site : helpful. I was hoping you would consider posting some or all of the : source code for your web page so that I could scan for open news : servers myself. The rate that news servers open and close is : actually increasing. I've known a few servers to open... allow : testing for maybe a week tops, then close to the public, and a search : twice a month could miss that. Newshunter is limited to checking the : headers of news posts for the names of servers to scan. I was : wondering what methods your scripts use. I'm a novice in PERL, but I : am a fast learner :-) Where did you get the old newshunter 4.0 from? If you could post a link I would appreciate it. a quick google.com search resulted only in finding some mac software that goes by the name of "newshunter". Any help would be appreciated.

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Re: Source/program (#3046) by Anonymous at 2009-11-18 15:35:23

I note that the FAQ presents a link to an "old" version of the perl script that drives this site's lookups into NNTP servers. However, there is one possible oversight that may be present. It appears that this site wants to index servers for use by people. Therefore, it may be a good idea to issue a "MODE READER" command just after verifying a valid, non-denied connection and before the "LIST [ACTIVE]" command. This way, you ensure that you're getting a user's view of the server being scanned. For INN servers, this shouldn't hurt anything as its nnrpd program will recognize it and simply re-present its banner. For "user" connections coming from peers, this step is necessary as they would otherwise be connecting to innd in transit mode, not reader mode. For non-peer connections, INN either normally hands off to nnrpd or 502's the connection and disconnects. I am uncertain as to what other NNTP server packages do, but dnews seems to be popular as well. I would also suggest ignoring the result in case some [other] reading server [software] doesn't support it. INN's transit mode doesn't allow the "GROUP" or "ARTICLE" commands.

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