The 5-Step Binaries Tutor
Step 1. What Are Binaries?Step 2. How Do I Find Binaries?
Step 3. How Do I Download Binaries?
Step 4. How Do I Reassemble Binaries?
Step 5. How Do I Repair Binaries?
Software And Configuration Tips
USENET News Services To Download Binaries
Install & Configure NewsLeecher©
To Download Binaries
A USENET News client known as a newsreader is required to download binaries. Some email programs have a newsreader built in, but these programs are are mainly geared towards text newsgroups and are not ideal for downloading binaries. NewsLeecher is one of the most popular newsreaders for binaries and comes with a 15-day free trial, but is strictly for Windows. Mac users might try Unison, and Linux users can try Pan or KLibido.
Get Newsleecher here, and once it's been installed, launch the program. Your firewall might warn you that a new program is trying to access to the Internet, system resources or the trusted zone. Allow it permission.
NewsLeecher v3.9 is the current version as of this writing, with a 4.x beta version also available. Regardless of which version you download, the first time you open NewsLeecher it might tell you that you have to enter a server profile, and take you to the menu where we are headed. If it doesn't, click on the Manager tab to get there.
Then click the Add button that appears below the tab, highlighted here in green...(reads Add Server in the 4.x version)...
... and what you'll get is a popup menu where you will need to enter your news server address and server login credentials.
If the server is encrypted (SSL) you will need to change the port number. The news server provider will tell you which port to use, and NewsLeecher will suggest SSL ports as well.
Connections refers to how many simultaneous connections you are allowed for downloading from the server. Some ISPs limit this to number to 2, while USENET services sometimes allow unlimited connections. Either way you are bound by the bandwidth of your ISP account, so using more than 4 connections for DSL or cable will probably not improve your download speed, and might even slow it. If you have fiber optic service (e.g. FiOS), you might try more than 4 until you get diminishing returns on speed.
The number under Priority tells NewsLeech that it should use this news server first for collecting articles (downloading). You can have more than one news server configured as a 1st priority server. If both are enabled and configured as Prority 1, NewsLeech will make connections to both servers and use them simultaneously. If articles are not available on these servers, NewsLeech looks for additional servers configured as Priority 2, and so on.
In reality it's easiest to set all servers as Priority 1 but only enable the one you want to use at the moment. You can use the Server Setup menu above to add more than one news server. Just click the ADD button again and start over with a new server address. This assumes you have more than one news server address you can utilize.
For further v3.x configuration, continue. If you installed the 4.x beta version, click here.
Configuration Settings for NewsLeecher v3.x
With NewsLeecher open, click Options from the top toolbar, highlighted in green.
The menu below will pop open. Highlighting a heading on the left will cause the relevant settings to display on the right. Most of the default settings are fine so we won't bother with tweaking. Let's just make sure a few things are in place.
Highlight Advanced on the left, (top of tree, highlighted in blue). Make your settings match the screenshot unless you want to customize a setting to suit yourself. When done, highight Download, indicated by the red arrow.
For "Default Download Folder" browse to the folder or drive on your system that you want to use to download your binaries into. You can create a folder by entering the name you want.
Make sure the TWO CHECK MARKS are in place here too. This is where you configure NewsLeecher to error-check the downloads and capitalize any that are damaged or incomplete.
Then skip down two headings to highlight NZB Files on the left:
Match the screenshot unless you want to change something for your own purposes. In the final field, under "NZB File Scanner," navigate to your desktop using the Browse button to fill in the proper path. NZB files will be saved to this location, then NewsLeecher will import them automatically. (Inside your browser, when you click on an NZB for the first time, it might ask you what to do with the file. Choose to Save it, and make the default location the desktop.)
Move down one heading to highlight PAR2 Files:
Again, match the screen.
Move down one more heading to General:
This is where you set NewsLeecher to use kilobytes or kilobits per second.
And move down to Interface:
These options can be set to taste, but it is handy to have NewsLeecher minimize to the system tray, rather than dock on the task bar. You can play with the grid lnes, shading, etc. to taste.
The next two headings, Listview Fonts and Listview Colors, change (yes, you guessed it), your fonts and colors.
The Posting heading is for posting to USENET, but if you plan to post, there are better news clients to do that with, such as Forte's Agent©, so you don't need to bother with this section.
We are not using the internal Repair'n'Extract tools, (we have QuickPar and WinRAR or 7Zip for that), so you can ignore that heading as well.
The last heading, Security, allows you to set a password for running NewsLeecher. It also lets you set controls for wiping searches when you close the program. (Note that we are not using the built-in search engine incorporated in this software, as it is not a trial feature. Instead we are using a free website. See Step 3. How Do I Download Binaries?) You're done configuring NewsLeecher 3.x! To top
Install and Configure QuickPar
Configuration Settings for NewsLeecher v4.x
With NewsLeecher open, click Settings from the top toolbar, noted by the red arrow below.
Peek below at the screenshot to see a tree on the left. If you highlight the first selection (Adv. Nerdy Tweaks), you can gain access to a screen where you can change fonts, colors, grid line spacing, whether or not NewsLeecher minimizes to the system tray, and so forth. Since this kind of tweaking is personal and not critical, we'll skip it.
Instead, jump down to Download and highlight that:
Fill in the path where you want your downloads to go.
Next, click Leech Tweaks on the left.
Check the boxes as indicated. This will ensure that NewsLeecher handles PAR files efficiently. (Mouse-over any box to read a popup of exactly what the option does.)
Next, click Speed Scheduler on the left.
When you first opened NewsLeecher, it might have popped up a warning that you did not set your max download speed yet. If you clicked past that screen to get rid of it, or want to re-enter the information, this is where you do it.
Click the Set Max Speed button and follow the prompts. Choose your max download speed from the drop-down menu of Mbps (megabits per second). If you don't know what your max download speed is, you can test your ISPs connection by using Speedtest.net.
Next, click Interface in the left tree.
The first couple boxes have to do with NewsLeecher notifying you of new final and beta releases. Check or uncheck to taste. You can also set the way dates are displayed; if space should be shown in gigabytes or megabytes, and if you like speed in Kilobytes or kilobits.
Next, click NZB Files on the left.
Check the boxes as shown to associate NewsLeecher with NZB files. Check the "Auto Import NZB Files" box at the bottom, and navigate to the desktop where the NZB files will arrive. NewsLeecher will scan your desktop for new NZBs and import them as they arrive. (Inside your browser, when you click on an NZB for the first time, it might ask you what to do with the file. Choose to Save it, and make the default location the desktop.)
When done, click OK. You're done configuring NewsLeecher 4.x! To top
