NFO Files Explained in Plain English

When a large file is posted to a binary newsgroup, a small text file is usually posted along with it to provide information about it. You can open an NFO file with any word processor. The NFO will contain things such as file size, the number of RAR’s and PAR’s, video formats such as NTSC or PAL, etc.

It is always a good idea to look for, and read, the NFO before downloading a large file if you have a limited internet connection, or limited Usenet access. For users with fast, unlimited connections, and all the popular codecs already installed, the NFO file can be ignored.