Is there a good nntp client for Centos 6 that handles SSL native?

[Fran Jones]

Is there a good nntp client for Centos 6 that handles SSL native?

It was difficult, to say the least, on Centos anyway, to get
Pan to post to Mixmin servers, which require SSL (so we have
to use Stunnel to add SSL capabilities to Pan) on Centos.

Even now, after months of trying, I have an insecure setup
(simply because no proper instructions on how to handle
"nobody" exist for clueless newbies such as myself).

Had Pan native SSL support, this wouldn't have been a problem.

Hence the question:
Q: Is there a good freeware NNTP client with a Centos repository
that already handles SSL native?

Note: Here's the abbreviated sequence to install Stunnel with Pan
(but it took me months to come up with this as all the
tutorials on the web fail in the little Centos details).
Had there been a "correct" tutorial, I would have followed
it - but EVERY tutorial I followed, failed on Centos 6!
:(

Install Stunnel:
$ sudo yum install stunnel -y

Read bug reports to find a stunnel init script for Centos:
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=455815

Add & modify that stunnel /etc/init.d/stunnel script:
http://bugzilla.redhat.com/attachment.cgi?id=325164

Configure the Stunnel /etc/stunnel/stunnel.conf file:
;setuid = nobody
;setgid = nobody
client = yes
[nntp]
accept = localhost:2119
connect = news.mixmin.net:563

NOTE: It took me months to figure out that these two
now-commented lines cause stunnel to fail on my Centos box:

Test Stunnel:
$ telnet localhost 2119
Trying ::1...
telnet: connect to address ::1: Connection refused
Trying 127.0.0.1...
Connected to localhost.
Escape character is '^]'.
200 news.mixmin.net InterNetNews NNRP server INN 2.6.0 (20120622 prerelease)
ready (posting ok)
post
340 Ok, recommended message-ID <kuyt4l$e21$1...@news.mixmin.net>
From: foobar <f...@bar.com>
Newsgroups: alt.test
Subject: This is a test

This is a test of stunnel to mixmin.
.
240 Article received <kuyt4l$e21$1...@news.mixmin.net>
quit
205 Bye!
Connection closed by foreign host.

Install Pan:
$ sudo yum --enablerepo rpmforge install pan -y

Configure any known good Pan newsserver:
[Pan]Edit->Edit News Servers->Add->(see below)->OK
Address: aioe.org
Port: 119

Configure a test Pan posting profile:
[Pan]Edit->Edit Posting Profiles->Add->
Profile Name: New Profile
Full Name: Foo Bar
Email Address: f...@bar.com
Post Articles Via: aioe.org
OK

Test Pan setup by reading & sending a message to alt.test.
[Pan]Post->Post to Newsgroup->alt.test

Now you're ready to configure Pan for SSL via Stunnel:
[Pan]Edit->Edit News Servers->Add->(see below)->OK
Address: localhost
Port: 2119

Switch the test user to this encrypted server:
[Pan]Edit->Edit Posting Profiles->Edit->
Post Articles Via: localhost
OK

Test this setup by reading & sending a message to alt.test.
[Pan]Post->Post to Newsgroup->alt.test

Note: It would have been easier had Pan native SSL
capability; hence the question:

Q: What nntp client handles SSL native on Centos 6?

[Mike Easter]

f/ups to acf, as I'm not subscribed to those other groups

Fran Jones wrote:
> Is there a good nntp client for Centos 6 that handles SSL native?
>
> It was difficult, to say the least, on Centos anyway, to get
> Pan to post to Mixmin servers, which require SSL (so we have
> to use Stunnel to add SSL capabilities to Pan) on Centos.

Depending on your version of Pan, 0.136+ do SSL.

April 8, 2012 - Pan 0.136: This version supports binary uploading, TLS
(SSL) connections, PGP handling and other nice features.
http://pan.rebelbase.com/

Also, if you want someone to name another newsreader which supports SSL
such as Tb, you have to say what you are doing with your reader, as Tb
doesn't do combine/decode binaries, does do filtering with regex or
wildcards and other limitations, but it serves perfectly well to read
and post to a text newsgroup such as this one.

You could use Tb for text and something else for binaries.

Or you could use a newer Pan for both.

> Q: What nntp client handles SSL native on Centos 6?

Tb for one, depending on your needs.


--
Mike Easter

[Mike Easter]

f/ups fixed to acf

Mike Easter wrote:

> Also, if you want someone to name another newsreader which supports SSL
> such as Tb, you have to say what you are doing with your reader, as Tb
> doesn't do combine/decode binaries, does do filtering with regex or
> wildcards and other limitations, but it serves perfectly well to read
> and post to a text newsgroup such as this one.

s/does do/doesn't do/

Tb doesn't do regex or wildcard filtering.

It is considered by its developers a mail agent which also does some
text newsing.


--
Mike Easter