If you want information about the usenet ask wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usenet
Yes you get maximum speed as you are downloading directly from servers, and most of the providers offer SSL encryption by now. So nobody can trace you back. It is not really like torrents, because you are not leeching directly from another person and you are not forced to immediately upload as well.
However, it is not for free. Since it's similar to the internet you will have to pay for a usenet provider as well. But most of them offer free trial periods, so you can check them out without actually having to pay. The most common would be Usenext (www.usenext.com), but you can also try out Giganews (www.giganews.com) oder Binverse (www.binverse.com)
Yes you get maximum speed as you are downloading directly from servers, and most of the providers offer SSL encryption by now. So nobody can trace you back. It is not really like torrents, because you are not leeching directly from another person and you are not forced to immediately upload as well.
However, it is not for free. Since it's similar to the internet you will have to pay for a usenet provider as well. But most of them offer free trial periods, so you can check them out without actually having to pay. The most common would be Usenext (www.usenext.com), but you can also try out Giganews (www.giganews.com) oder Binverse (www.binverse.com)