WinRAR

WinRAR is a piece of software designed to compress and expand files from certain archival formats, and this version is made with 64-bit architecture. That means it's fully compatible with 64-bit Windows systems. WinRAR has gone through a number of updates during its time, and this newest update includes support for a brand new archiving algorithm that creates RAR5 files.

As your computer gets older, it will invariably collect files that take up space on the system hard drive. WinRAR takes these files and uses digital compression to make them smaller, thus freeing up valuable hard drive space. The software can compress files into one of three formats, including ZIP, RAR, and RAR5. RAR5 is the newest archival format, and it provides an improved compression rate over both RAR and ZIP.

If you need to keep any compressed files protected from intrusion, you can use the integrated password protection feature to provide 256-bit AES encryption to the file. If you want to make files that can be expanded without the need for WinRAR to unzip them, the software can be used to produce self-extracting files. To decompress this sort of file, you only need to double-click the file icon.

WinRAR can also decompress archival files from 15 available formats, including 7-Zip, ZIP, RAR, CAB, ISO, JAR, TAT, XZ, ARJ, and ACE. Using the options menu, you can customization just about any facet of the software.

Near the top of the WinRAR app interface is a function bar that links you to all the main functions of the software. These include Virus Scan, Wizard, Self-Extracting File Creation, and Archive File Editing.

If you have a compressed file you want to open, all you have to do is right-click on it and select Extract File from the menu. The software will ask you for a destination for the content. You can also decompress files directly through the WinRAR software by double-clicking the file to be expanded.

Creating a new archival file is a bit more difficult, however. From inside the app window, right-click the mouse to reveal an action menu. Find the option that says New/WinRAR Archive, right-click the file to be compressed, then choose Add To Archive. If you want the final archival file to be able to extract itself, find the Self-Extracting option in the UI and select it before you hit OK.

From the context menu of Windows Explorer, you can use WinRAR to perform single-click file compression and expansion. Unfortunately, the app's overall aesthetic design is a bit outdated, and it hasn't received an update in quite some time.

This version of the software is compatible with Windows XP, Vista, 7, and 8. It works with both 64-bit and 32-bit platforms, and it takes advantage of antivirus integration for optimal protection.

WinRAR is a program used to open and create compressed archives made in a variety of different formats, including ZIP, RAR, and in the latest version of the program, RAR5. WinRAR supports a much higher compression ratio than the default Windows ZIP application, and also allows for strong encryption of compressed files. You can protect your compressed files with a password and 256-bit AES encryption; one of the strongest encryption standards on the market.

WinRAR also supports the creation of self-extracting archives. This allows users to package their archives with a .EXE executable extension, just like a stand alone program. When the executable is double-clicked, the archive will extract itself (the user can specify the directory for the files to extract to) and can even run an executable or batch file within the extracted files. This allows for the easy creation of compressed program installer files for program developers and also comes in handy for automating various other tasks.

Longtime WinRAR users will be pleased to note that the interface has not changed a lot in this most recent version of the program. Users still have the ability to create and open archives, test old archives for errors, and even recover damaged archives in many cases. Most of these processes can be done manually or by using the built-in wizard feature. WinRAR can be used for automating disk backup tasks, generating automatic archive names based on a "mask" or combination of a user-specified name and the current date or time. Users can specify whether they want the original files to be deleted or retained as compression proceeds, which is good for large backup tasks or environments tight on disk space. WinRAR also offers the option to shut down the computer when the compression process is complete.

At compression time, WinRAR allows the user to choose from various levels of compression, usually with the weakest compression methods running the quickest and the most powerful compression methods taking the longest to compress and extract. WinRAR allows for six separate levels of compression, including:

• store (no compression)
• fastest
• fast
• normal
• good
• best

Most users will find a happy balance somewhere around the "normal" level as the compression ratio sees diminishing returns at the higher levels. WinRAR also supports splitting the compressed file into multiple volumes with a set number of bytes per volume. This feature is sometimes handy for large files which will be transmitted over the internet.