Tweaknews

This post is also available in: Nederlands (Dutch)

Tweaknews is a high quality Dutch Usenet provider, known for its high download speeds. What’s nice about Tweaknews is that you get access to a special newsreader when you subscribe. You can also use the VPN feature, which enables you to access the internet anonymously and safely. In this review you will read about our experience with Tweaknews.

Tweaknews subscriptions and price

Let’s start with the packages that Tweaknews offers. Tweaknews currently offers a special deal with discounts up to 42% on the Ultimate Annual Package.

Apart from the mentioned deal, Tweaknews normally offers the following packages:

• Free Trial: Want to try Tweaknews for 10 days? There is a free trial so you can see whether you like the service. You can download up to 10GB of data in these 10 days. The disadvantage is that you only have 8 connections at the same time to download (even if you have up to 300 mbit download speed in theory).
• Flat-fee package: If you want to download without data limits, this package is perfect for you. For a fixed price per month, there are no restrictions on your data usage. The special deal we mentioned earlier applies to the most comprehensive Flat-fee package (Ultimate + VPN).
• Block package: A kind of prepaid package. For a fixed one-time fee you acquire a certain amount of data. This means you don’t pay monthly, and your data cannot expire. This is a convenient package for people who only download occasionally and that just require small amounts of data.

Flat-fee packages

Block packages

In terms of subscription options Tweaknews is seemingly able to facilitate everyone’s needs. The pricing seems really decent, certainly if you opt for the special deal which gives a nice discount on the most complete Tweaknews package. The only thing some might miss is the possibility to pay with Bitcoins. In this regard they could still somewhat improve, considering that Tweaknews is committed to privacy and does offer solutions like a VPN.

Tweaknews configuration

To configure Tweaknews, use the following settings:

• News server hostname: News.tweaknews.eu
• Ports: 119 (No SSL), 563 (SSL), 443 (SSL)
• Username: This will be sent to you by e-mail
• Password: You choose your password yourself during signup

UsenetWire: The newsreader for Tweaknews

You get a special newsreader with your Tweaknews subscription, called UsenetWire. With UsenetWire you can search, filter and download from Usenet. Additionally, UsenetWire works with all popular NZB apps.

When you sign up with Tweaknews, you will receive an email with your login information. In the same email you will receive a link to download UsenetWire. In case you have missed that email, you can still download UsenetWire via the following link: https://usenetwire.com/download.html.

With your Tweaknews username and password you can directly link UsenetWire to your Tweaknews account. UsenetWire automatically requests this information the first time you start the program. Subsequently you can get started with this simple but efficient newsreader.

Downloading with UsenetWire

Downloading from Usenet with UsenetWire is very easy. This is how it works:

1. Click on Search
2. Enter your search query, for example “copyright act” and press Enter
3. Right click on the file you want to download, and click on Download
4. Your download now starts automatically

A folder called “UsenetWire” is automatically created in the download folder on your computer, where your downloads can be found. If you want your downloads to end up in a different folder, navigate to Options> Settings at the top left. Under the heading Downloads you can then configure in which folder the downloads should end up. You can also change the settings here pertaining to unpacking and repairing files. The default setting is that downloaded files are unpacked and repaired automatically, so the files you download are ready for use immediately. If this is something you like (we do like it ourselves!), then you do not have to make any further adjustments in this menu.

UsenetWire is a nice option, especially for beginners. It’s a simple, clear newsreader. And what’s also great is that you need no other software besides UsenetWire (as long as you have your Tweaknews subscription ofcourse). For example, you do not need to scrutinize and search on any NZB sites. Tweaknews is also compatible with all popular Usenet automation apps, such as Sonarr, Radarr, CouchPotato and SickBeard.

Security and privacy Tweaknews

SSL and VPN

Tweaknews has some solid security options. To begin with, there’s the 256-bit SSL encryption. This means that your connection to Usenet is secured when you download with Tweaknews. Additionally there is the VPN service which is included in the more premium packages. This VPN application is simply called ‘Tweaknews’. Thanks to the VPN connection, all internet traffic is encrypted and redirected through the Tweaknews servers. Your own IP address will be hidden for external parties and you will become an anonymous ghost on the world wide web. The Tweaknews VPN gives you the opportunity to connect to 31 servers in 21 countries. To download Tweaknews VPN, navigate to https://www.tweaknews.eu/en/vpn. Of course you do need an active Tweaknews subscription in order to use their VPN service.

The Tweaknews VPN has a simple interface. You can choose to encrypt your data traffic with a 256-bit or 128-bit encryption protocol. You can also choose to not encrypt your connection, but merely use Tweaknews as a proxy server (with an unsecured connection). The VPN protocols which are supported are OpenVPN UDP and OpenVPN TCP. Other features include a kill switch, IPv6 leak protection and DNS leak protection. It’s a no-nonsense VPN that Tweaknews offers, with a clean interface and some neat extras. We tested the Dutch Tweaknews VPN servers in terms of speed and the results were very satisfying.

What information does Tweaknews store about you?

Tweaknews needs your email address, surname and last name when you register. They state that your personal information is merely used internally (inside the company). In theory your account details are not shared with other organizations. This could however happen if you give your explicit consent or if there is a legal obligation that Tweaknews needs to abide to. We asked Tweaknews and they assured us they don’t keep any user logs with the download activities of their customers. So even if the authorities come knocking, Tweaknews has no information to give them.

Despite the SSL encryption and VPN option, there are some minor remarks to be made in terms of privacy. For instance, if you sign up for a free trial your phone number is required. Tweaknews uses your number to send you a verification code by text message. Not all Usenet users are keen on sharing their phone number though. And like we indicated before, perhaps a Bitcoin payment option could be a nice addition. But all things considered, Tweaknews scores exceptionally well in terms of privacy and security. The zero log policy, the VPN and the SSL encryption all contribute to this high privacy score.

Client support

Tweaknews’ customer support is available in English, German, French and Dutch. During a weekday, we asked Tweaknews’ customer support a question by e-mail as a matter of test. Within an hour we received an accurate and helpful response in our inbox. We repeated our test in the weekend (Sunday). We got our response on Monday, so during the weekend customer support is probably not available. A live chat function could be a nice suggestion, although we almost never see this option being offered by Usenet providers.

Speed Tweaknews

We obtained impressive connection speeds when running several speed tests with Tweaknews. We could download with 23,7 MB/s, which is on par with the maximum theoretical download speed of our own internet connection. We do have to note that Tweaknews has all its servers in Europe, and we ourselves are located in Europe. If you are using Tweaknews from outside of Europe, download speeds could be slightly lower. We checked with some of our colleagues in Canada and the United States. They tested Tweaknews for us and they consistently reported high download speeds.

Conclusion: How good is Tweaknews?

Tweaknews is good, there is no doubt about it. Their service has some strong selling points. We like the newsreader they offer: UsenetWire. It seems to be a very convenient solution for people that are new to Usenet and are not that tech-savvy. Tweaknews is fast and has solid security options. And their service is very affordable, especially considering the quality. We listed all advantages and disadvantages for you:

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