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WinRAR And WinZip Free Software Alternatives

6 Jun

Want To Utilize Software Like WinRAR and WinZip Free? This Guide Looks At Some Of The Alternative Software Available And How It Compares.

WinRaR and Winzip are two of the most widely used file compressions programs on the market as they cater for both PCs and MACs, but despite their numerous benefits neither are free to use. However, there are alternatives that are also effective and easier on the purse strings.

Compressing and Zipping Files

In order to find the ideal WinRAR or WinZip free alternative, it is important to understand how compression software works. While there is debate between WinRAR and WinZip functions, the compression process works the same way for both of these programs.

To zip a file is to compress it so it will be a smaller manageable size when transporting it either on a mobile device (such as a memory stick), or via email. It is particularly popular with these methods of file sharing, as it allows the files to be stored without taking up too much memory or bandwidth, which could result in a delayed delivery when documents are sent via email.

Seven Free Alternatives to Winzip and WinRAR

Any free software can be subjective, as what one user is happy with another may not. The following are the lucky 7 that give a comprehensive list of file compression utilities that have been tried, test and in some instances rated.

7-Zip – is an open source utility which supports all popular formats such as .zip, .rar and so on. It has a powerful compression, and can create self extracting archives. It can integrate with Windows Shell, it has a powerful File Manager, and command line version. There is also a plugin for FAR Manager, and it can be localised for 79 languages.
PeaZip – this is another open source file compression software, and very versatile. It supports more than 80 file types, multiple strong encryption standards, it supports Drag and Drop, and it works on Windows and Linux. It also features a portable version that does not need to be installed and can run from USB drives, and Linux versions with the same GUI
IZArc - This supports a massive amount of file types, and all popular compression formats, it can open CD image files, it provides context sensitive menu, it can run your preferred Anti-Virus scanner when you open any archives and has a Winzip like interface. It allows you to drag and drop files from and to Windows Explorer, creates and extract archives directly in Windows Explorer, it can repair broken archives, it creates multiple archives spanning disks, self-extracting archives, converts from one archive type to another, view and write comments and has a build-in Multilanguage support.
Quick Zip Lite – this is a very compact program, and is ideal for zipping and unzipping software for netbooks. It also has the Drag and Drop functionality for zipping and unzipping, supports all popular archive format and extract and delete files without leaving the main screen.
ZipGenius – this is a simple to use file compression software with all of the typical compression features. It has ZIP encryption and decryption, drag-and-drop support, can send archives via e-mail, and Web publishing of archives and files via FTP and TWAIN devices and has a built in Multilanguage support though the main languages it supports is English and Italian.
RAR Expander - this is an open source program that expands RAR archives on Mac OSX with full WinRAR compatability. It also includes support for expanding multi-volume and password-protected RAR archives. It also supports AppleScript and includes example scripts for easily expanding multiple RAR archives at once
Windows Compression Utility - The last is as basic as they come, and is only free if you already have a Microsoft Windows operating system on your computer. Compared with Winzip and WinRAR the above albeit free software is quite competitive, but if you just want to send a group of files or folders compressed, go to your explorer view and select what you want to compress, then right click and from the menu select Send to and then Compressed (Zipped) Folder.

When it comes to extracting files with a free program, make sure it is compatible with the compressed filetype. Whatever your preference, whether you want to send a few heavy files in a condensed form, or repair archives, there is plenty of alternative free software to choose from on the internet.