WinZip 12.0

WinZip brings the convenience of Windows to the use of Zip files and other compression formats. WinZip includes tight integration with My Computer and Windows Explorer. You can drag and drop to or from Explorer, or zip and unzip without leaving Explorer.

WinZip features built-in support for the popular Internet file formats TAR, gzip, UUencode, XXencode, BinHex, and MIME. In addition, ARJ, LZH, and ARC files are supported via external programs. You can use WinZip to access almost all the compressed and encoded files you download from the Internet.

If a Zip file contains a "setup" or "install" program, WinZip's Install feature will unzip the files, run the installation program, and clean up temporary files. A Wizard is also included for the rookies, just a click away from the Classic version. WinZip lets you organize Zip files into one convenient list that is sorted by date, making it easier to locate all Zip files, regardless of where they came from or where they are stored. A Search facility will find any Zip files lost on your hard disk.

WinZip supports the 64-bit Zip file format, which eliminates all practical restrictions on the size of Zip files and on the number and size of compressed files within a Zip file. Zip file capacity is limited only by your system's resources. WinZip's advanced 128- and 256-bit AES encryption helps you prevent unauthorized disclosure of the contents of your sensitive documents.

Pluses: WinZip is by far the fastest compression tool in comparison with WinAce and WinRar. When used for compressing at a normal rate a directory containing multimedia and text files in total size of 104 Mb, WinZip created an archive of 76,2 Mb in 17 seconds , compared to 64,2 Mb in 1 minute and 11 seconds for WinAce and 64 Mb in 51 seconds for WinRar.

Drawbacks / flaws: You cannot browse through your computer using WinZip. And, most of all, you can only compress in ZIP format and besides being the fastest archiving program, ZIP archives are the biggest, so WinZip loses size over speed.

In conclusion: Speed versus small archives or how much space do you need when you decide to compress data? If you want to do it quickly, you might want to use WinZip, but if you are in need for free space, you might reconsider.

version reviewed: 12