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Is there anything I should know security-wise while using Usenet/NZBGet? (lemmy.fmhy.ml)

submitted 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) by [email protected] to c/usenet

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I wanted to give Usenet a try so I installed NZBGet and found a provider and indexer. That said I don't know if I should edit any security settings even if I don't have port forwarding enabled on my network. I've changed the default username and password and I'm connecting through a VPN but that's about it.

Real new to this so my concern is knowing enough to mess myself over.

Any other tips would be appreciated as well!

I was wondering why people pay for index sites until I tried looking myself for example.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I wanted to give Usenet a try so I installed NZBGet

The main NZBGet project is no longer being developed. There is a newer fork of that project but it's still a bit early to say how actively developed it'll be. You may want to consider installing a more actively developed usenet downloader e.g. SABnzbd.

That said I don’t know if I should edit any security settings

There isn't a whole ton you need to do out of the box unless you're doing something more specific. Definitely do not port forward your usenet downloader's listening port to the open internet unless you have a reason to (and you know what you're doing). New people often think they need to do this without realizing they are opening access to the usenet downloader to randoms on the internet.

Some advanced users do enable usage of blacklisting/whitelisting file extensions e.g. purposely ignore or delete .exe files during your nzb downloads since those are usually malware. In SABnzbd that's in the settings under Switches / Unwanted Extensions and Cleanup List. Also see the forums e.g. https://forums.sabnzbd.org/viewtopic.php?p=128401

[–] newthrowaway20 1 points 2 years ago

Just to add, I'd only recommend port forwarding if you need remote management and have security set up. For most people just keeping a list and adding it when you get home will work just as well and be a lot safer.

I've been port forwarding in conjunction with an android app called nzb360 on Android. Love that app. If you go down that road, make sure all your services are set up with a login and a good unique password for each app. Don't share passwords. Make them long and annoying. Haven't had any issues yet but the possibility always exists. I've seen the logs of IP 's that tried to access my SABNzbd page, it's scary, lol. So many people are just scanning for anything and everything exposed all the time.