Someone reviewed v on Jul 5, 2022

Pros: 555

Cons: 555

Bottom Line: 555

colemar reviewed v1.7.2 Build 988 Beta on Jan 16, 2009

Yes it is free, yes it is clean and does the job.
But:
It downloads only from a server at a time, so if you got a secondary server to fill in missing articles then you must manually switch.
It uses only one thread/connection per file, so if you can use 20 connections but are downloading only 2 files then Grabit will use only 2 connections with reduced total speed.

Prospero424 reviewed v1.7.2 Build 988 Beta on Aug 12, 2008

Excellent, excellent, excellent! They added exactly what I've been asking for: SSL!

As far as I'm aware, this is the ONLY usable, free binary newsreader for Windows with SSL support. I can't recommend it enough.

Seems pretty stable for a beta. No problems so far, and the speed is great.

fourbigoo reviewed v1.7.1 Build 960 Beta on Jan 10, 2008

needs to integrate public NZB indexing site search support like alt.binz

and preferably an open architecture for expanding search options

otherwise a good free client

Prospero424 reviewed v1.7.1 Build 960 Beta on Jun 14, 2007

Unequivocably the best free binary newsreader for Windows, and also the simplest.

It doesn't have any frills like advanced filtering, but it's fast and it works. Global search, by its very nature, costs money to implement. The fact that they allow even a limited number of searches a day for free software on a free service is pretty amazing. No amount of complaining can change that. This is not P2P, people.

The only requisite feature it lacks, in my opinion, is SSL (encrypted transfers) support.

christoofar reviewed v1.7.1 Build 960 Beta on May 21, 2007

A freeware, multi-thread capable binary downloader.
Simple to set up & use. Can utilize .nzb files
Um, and YES, the Premium Search feature does cost extra (just like with Newsleecher)Why is this a suprise to people? Since when did server space become free?
Without the search feature, still works a treat as a solid binary grabber

jcollake reviewed v1.6.2 Build 940 Beta on Feb 12, 2007

Requires purchase of an account to do more than a couple/few searches a day. Otherwise, it would be a decent client, except it is more a commercial demo than a freeware, or even shareware application.

ballyhairs reviewed v1.6.2 Build 940 Beta on Sep 19, 2006

This is not a freeware, its a nagware, it allowes you to search 4 times a day or something and then it nags you for plus or whatever, its not even any close to newsleecher, not in a million kizillion year... I stick with newsleecher, its the best of the best.

Kal-El reviewed v1.6.1 Build 936 Beta on Sep 9, 2006

not as pretty as newsleecher and missing a few minor features, but this is free and not as bloated! Newsleecher has a bad GDI leak.

Flinty reviewed v1.6.1 Build 936 Beta on Jul 6, 2006

First i tried Newsleecher but that over-complicated the process but this application holds the users hands but doesn't treat them like an idiot. Brilliant application! Now I can use newsgroups :D

Mandeep reviewed v1.6.0 Build 928 Beta on May 18, 2006

Only problem I had was with the program selecting 8 connections by default so I had to change that to 4 connections to actually download things. This program blows Newsbin and Newsleecher out of the water.

TC17 reviewed v1.6.0 Build 928 Beta on May 14, 2006

From what I have read, this program has problems with downloading many headers for a group. Some have complained it hasn't been fixed over the past year. I also read and see that they charge for a search function.

All that adds up to is that they most likely will never fix the large group downloading bug, because they are making money off that bug by charging for a seperate search function (people use the search so they don't have to download all the headers).

Not counting any of what I just said, I've only used this program a little bit, but so far it works good for me. A lot cheaper than spending $35 on the pay only news readers which do basically the same thing.

aszure reviewed v1.6.0 Build 928 Beta on May 9, 2006

Its a decent and solid program. It handles nzb very nicely, and isnt really as much of a system hog as other programs can be. The only thing that one could consider negative about the program is that its lacking some features that the competing programs have.

The layout is simple and easy to follow. I used newsbin and newsreactor for years, and finally switched to this.

horsecharles reviewed v1.6.0 Build 928 Beta on Apr 18, 2006

My goodness! Heaven forbid having to pay for anything! How outrageous to have to pay for software, music, food, clothing, sex.......

christoofar reviewed v1.6.0 Build 928 Beta on Apr 18, 2006

Though somewhat limited compared to other *payware*
binary harvesters, still pretty feature laden, & handles .nzb files easily which is becoming more & more prevelant these days . I have no patience to search thru 2 million headers to find something.
This is a good "starter app" for binary newsgroup use. The author still updates it, the app is still free, and the GUI /setup is fairly straightforward compared to some of the others mentioned below.. Good stuff.

roj reviewed v1.6.0 Build 928 Beta on Apr 18, 2006

After two years of "discussion", there is STILL no fix for the "large group bug".

Translation:

If the group you plan to use has more than a million or so headers, don't bother with GrabIt! - the program will glitch Big Time.

Kludges like the "new technology" that allows sampling of large groups and the limiting of the number of headers retrieved do not a solution make.

This program is also glacially slow handling those large groups it actually can deal with. NewsLeecher, for all its foibles (and asinine policy towards fixes and testing) blows the doors off this program for speed and effortless handling of groups.

If you're a casual binary group user with a piddly server that will have at most only a couple hundred thousand headers in a single group then this is for you. If you're serious about Usenet binary downloading then don't bother.

As an aside, Power-Grab 2002 (which is also free - REALLY free) DOES handle large groups. I tested it with a group having 5.5 million headers and while it was very slow to process those headers once they were finished downloading, the program actually presented me with a usable download list and did not simply give me a blank screen the way GrabIt! does.

ONE star for a once useful program that hints and teases but refuses to dance with the single largest issue of binary Usenet users.

stisev reviewed v1.5.2 Build 909 Beta on May 26, 2005

What the HELL?

The search function costs money now? This program has ceased to fulfill its usefullness.

Use Newsleecher instead.

This program claims to be free, but the search function costs money. $2 a month or $36 a year.

$36. dollars. a. year. That is OUTRAGEOUS for just usenet searching!

Price scheme here:
http://shemes.com/?p=usenetservice

LPEspecial reviewed v1.5.2 Build 909 Beta on May 26, 2005

Still a good program but with the non-free search option it is getting less attractive to use.

Considering the few bugs in the program and the long decoding time, combined with the lack of usefull multi-server support (automaticly retry on other server if downloading on one sever fails) and the non-free search drives me away to some other (paid) programs which do more for the same money.

hkm reviewed v1.5.2 Build 909 Beta on May 25, 2005

Not too bad for free. What I esp like: it supports .NZB {NewzBin] extension.
[NZB support you'll find in such shareware progs like: NewsReactor, NewsLeecher, NewsBin, NewsRover, etc., etc.

What I don't like: that it still doesn't have all-enclusive internal decoders for ALL typical formats used on Usenet. It's a pain to download the encoded files, then have to go to the d/l directory and decode. Why this two-step process is necessary, I dunno.

All-in-all, though, a very good freeware alternative for downloading binaries from Usenet.

Aires reviewed v1.5.2 Build 909 Beta on May 25, 2005

Great piece of software. Should be '1.5.3 Build 909 Beta' though.

Phantasy reviewed v1.5.2 Build 909 Beta on May 25, 2005

I think this program is great. I do see a few bugs here and there but the most important one is when the headers disappear. That is a pain in the A$$. The only other problem I have is that I download 50MB files faster then it can decode them. Must mean its time I get a new PC?

In reply to christoofar:

You can use more then one server and download from more then one server at a time. I use 4 simataniously. All you have to do is right click on the files and scroll to the bottom and choose a diff server if you have them in the server list on the right.

borisf98 reviewed v1.5.2 Build 902 Beta on Apr 8, 2005

Major improvement from previous version.

Two inconveniences still remain. There is no reply button and that keeps this downloaded in "work with binary files only" category. Also do not click on newsgroup while it is updating. All new articles will disappear.

Otherwise I am very happy. Speed of newsgroups' update has improved by leaps and bounds. Less error messages. Keep on improving!!!

christoofar reviewed v1.5.1 Build 888 Beta on Nov 22, 2004

"prettier" GUI, but lack of the ability to use more thant one server at a time is severly limiting.BNR2 still rules the freeware roost due to multi-server & multi-threading skills, & I've never had any issues with its database stability. Newsleecher if you want the best & are willing to pay for it.
Still & all, Grabit is a good "starter" app for binary downloading, is easy to figure out, & my hat's off the the developer who continues to improve on it

zorty reviewed v1.5.1 Build 888 Beta on Nov 22, 2004

before all: I didn't try the latest beta version.

I just wanted to say that I'm astonished by the fact that development still continues.. I used to use beta 1.4.7 for quite a long time. But it was so buggy and unstable (1. STABILITY? ..no way!) that I switched to newsleecher some months ago. If this brand new version acts more stable it's definitely worth the download. There's one major advantage newsleecher still doesn't offer. Group filter options per group. Not only global settings..

definitely a good piece of software. try it if you are into binary news ;)

roj reviewed v1.5.1 Build 888 Beta on Nov 22, 2004

There are two thing that BNR2 doesn't (and likely will never) have that this program does:

1) STABILITY

2) A user-friendly interface

For stability alone, I consigned BNR2 to the garbage bin (I'm yet to see a release that didn't necessitate a complete re-inhale of all headers after a week of use due to corruption) and have used this steadfastly until my ISP switched to GigaNews. This program does not handle ginormous (my word) groups well (we're talking in excess of six million headers) but in all other respects it acquits itself very well. It doesn't do simultaneous downloading from multiple servers but that isn't a showstopper for me. Stability is and this baby has it.

For a step up from this that includes multi-server support, try NewsLeecher. It's *badly* overpriced but it too has a rock solid database implementation (did I mention BNR2 couldn't have a solid database implementation to save its life?) and handles ginormous groups easily.

Four stars for a great freeware app that does almost all of what I want a binary news inhaler to do.

TC17 reviewed v1.4.7 Build 856 Beta on Aug 3, 2004

BNR (Binary News Reaper) is better than this program, as it has many more features. Its just a little harder to figure out how to setup at first, but works pretty much the same way.

This program I downloaded from here lacks any type of stats/feedback on what is being downloaded or at what speed. In fact I thought the program wasn't even working at first when I tried downloading my newsgroup list, as it gave no feedback whatsoever when I told it to retrieve the list.

Just noticed the graphic shown here, has stats on it. But the file I downloaded from here did not have that, unless its been hidden in an updated version.

madjo reviewed v1.4.7 Build 856 Beta on Jun 6, 2004

I like this product, it is easy and fast. Good work.

@Tokar: "I don't want to hear this crap from him about "I don't have time to code all day." Know your role and shut your mouth is all i got to say."
You said this.
Why don't you try creating such a product while having a life and a job and all.
Use the program and be glad it is free...

Tokar reviewed v1.4.7 Build 856 Beta on May 20, 2004

This is the easiest usenet news reader out there. This is the software that I used to get started with usenet. Has a great interface, requires the least amount of resources amongst news readers, and is very intuitive. Only a few gripes, which is related to the publisher, Alan Shemes. I see he makes a few posts on the forums at the homepage, www.shemes.com, but this software hasn't been updated for close to a year. He keeps saying version 1.5 will be done soon, but no one has seen an update since July 2003. The program is lacking because of such. Alan plans to add NZB support as well as multi-server support (meaning one can set up the program to split downloads over more than one server) in the next release, whenever the hell he releases it. Programs like BNR2 (Binary News Reaper) already have support for these things. I don't want to hear this crap from him about "I don't have time to code all day." Know your role and shut your mouth is all i got to say.

christoofar reviewed v1.4.7 Build 856 Beta on Nov 14, 2003

Grabit does lots of things right, is easy on the eyes, and a snap to set up. What it doesn't do is handle multi-thread article downloading using multiple servers at the same time. You can only use one server at a time, and you are limited to the amount of connections. Binary News Reaper (BNR2)is the champ for faster downloading, and you have the ability to pull down the same file, across multiple servers, using each connection to it's max potential.
If Grabit can ever get this feature added, it will get a 5 star rating from me!

borisf98 reviewed v1.4.6 Beta on Oct 19, 2003

Look has change, but it is still the best binary file downloader on the net. But it is not very good for posting messages.

Aires reviewed v1.4.6 Beta on Mar 20, 2003

Hmm yeah, and for God's sake post a new photo! The GUI has changed and now looks different enough that it have a more uptodate photo here.

wd40 reviewed v1.4.6 Beta on Mar 19, 2003

This is the best news group program out there. Also this came out on 02/08/2003. This is old news. Post something new!

Aires reviewed v1.4.2 Beta on Mar 19, 2003

I downloaded and installed the latest GrabIt 1.4.6 Beta (build 836) today, and I've had absoutely no propblems with it. The reason I'm reviewing it and adding a comment, is because it's *the* easiest to use usenet/news groups piece of software that I've ever come accross - you don't need to be a genious to figure out how to use it. I'm *very* impressed! :-)

borisf98 reviewed v1.4.2 Beta on Sep 18, 2002

This is review of new beta 1.4.3 that is going to out soon. Never update to that one. Crashes all the time. Does not save large files. So on and so on. This application regressed so much.

disobay reviewed v1.4.1 Beta on Feb 21, 2002

The best just got better. GrabIt is simply my no.1 choice when it comes to binary extraction on newsgroups. The big competitors NewsGrabber (Zeonews) and NewsBIN PRO quickly fades in comparison.

smaugy reviewed v1.4.1 Beta on Feb 21, 2002

Excellent program, now with yenc support! Yay!

Palomino: what's wrong with the license agreement? You mean the one in the second window of the installer, yes?

itsphatty reviewed v1.4.1 Beta on Feb 21, 2002

THE BEST!!! I have tried ALL other news downloaders and this is the BEST!!! And it is freeware and is still being supported with an author that listens to the users and adds features based on user input!!! THIS IS THE BEST!!!

disobay reviewed v1.3.6 Beta on Aug 4, 2001

Being the very frequent user of the binary groups on USENET I grew tired of the old software I used for this perpose. After trying Newsbin Pro and NewsGrabber I stumbled upon this little software. And I must say, it's great - even though it still lacks some features. But it's still only in beta so I predict it has a great future!

Palomino reviewed v1.3.1 on Feb 28, 2001

I strongly suggest you read the 'License Agreement' before installing this program! It's no wonder it's free.

nrf reviewed v1.1.2 Beta Build 561 on Jan 9, 2001

died on me 2x, threw it out. first run got groups list and quit, it died. second time did refresh on groups, died. never got to see it work.
amd k6-3+, via mvp3g-m mobo, win98se
nrf