[continued from previous message]   
      
   >   XanaNews is often discussed in several Usenet newsgroup, including   
   >   alt.usenet.offline-reader.xananews and news.software.readers   
      
   XanaNews > Help > Contents > Introduction > Newsgroups, USENET and Privacy   
   >Newsgroups, USENET and Privacy   
   >Here's a short article on the basics of Newsgroups. You can find much more   
   >information on the world wide web. For instance at   
   >http://www.usenet.org.uk/usenet-information.html   
   >People are often confused by newsgroups. Who owns them? Who can read them?   
   >Who can post to them? And what on earth is USENET??   
   >And what about Privacy? If I read a message will anyone know? If I post a   
   >message will I be identifiable?   
   >1. What are Newsgroups?   
   >   Newsgroups are places on the Internet where people can post messages about   
   >   particular topics that interest them. Anyone who has access to the   
   >   newsgroup can read the message, and anyone can post a reply. The reply can   
   >   be seen by anyone else, who can post a reply, and so on. XanaNews allows   
   >   you to read these messages and post replies; both to the main USENET   
   >   newsgroups and also to other Private newsgroups.   
   >   Because anyone can read and reply to any message, they're not really like   
   >   e-mail. And because the messages remain on the server for days or even   
   >   weeks, they are not 'Instant' like chat rooms, either.   
   >2. What is USENET?   
   >   USENET is a vast group of newsgroup servers from all over the world which   
   >   share messages between each other. If you post a message in a newsgroup on   
   >   one server, anyone else that has access to USENET will be able to see your   
   >   message, and post a reply. And your reply will get shared so that it can   
   >   be seen by anyone else.   
   >   Thousands of Internet Service Providers, and commercial newsgroup hosting   
   >   services share in this USENET group. So its really not 'owned' by anyone.   
   >3. What are Private Newsgroups?   
   >   By contrast, Private newsgroups exist on private newsgroup servers and do   
   >   not participate in USENET. Many technical companies provide private   
   >   newsgroups to their customers, so that they can discuss their products   
   >   among themselves and with representatives from the company who choose to   
   >   join in.   
   >   The main XanaNews support newsgroups are held on the private   
   >   forums.talkto.net server, and it is provided free to XanaNews users.   
   >   Microsoft host a large private news server at msnews.microsoft.com where   
   >   Microsoft products can be discussed.   
   >4. What about Privacy? Can people tell which groups I read?   
   >   Broadly speaking, no one can tell. However, your countries' law   
   >   enforcement agencies may be able to find out by examining your computer,   
   >   or by asking your ISP for details of messages you download.   
   >5. Can people tell which groups I post to?   
   >   Of course - that's the whole point. Your message is there for all to see.   
   >   *Messages you post contain your e-mail address. XanaNews allows you to   
   >    type in what you like for your e-mail address, so some people disguise   
   >    theirs in various ways - mostly to avoid spammers who often trawl USENET   
   >    for valid e-mail addresses.   
   >   *Many news servers automatically attach a special header to each of your   
   >    messages containing the IP address of the computer you posted from. This   
   >    'nntp-posting-host' header can be used to identify which ISP you use, and   
   >    could allow hackers to connect to your computer if it has not been   
   >    updated with Microsoft security patches.   
   [end quoted plain text]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)