Have you ever found yourself working with zip files a lot? The built in Windows version of zip works just fine. However, most compressed files you find on the internet are actually RAR. This is a different variation of a zip file. It does a better job of compression. I’ve been using winrar for years to open RAR and ZIP files. Well, I decided that I wanted to find an open source alternative to WinRAR.
I have to admit that I haven’t actually looked for an open source alternative before because I didn’t realize there was one out there. Well, I was wrong. It’s called 7-Zip. It’s open source and can be used freely by consumers and businesses. You can find more info about it at www.7-zip.org.
Straight from their website: Compression ratio results are very dependent upon the data used for the tests. Usually, 7-Zip compresses to 7z format 30-70% better than to zip format. And 7-Zip compresses to zip format 2-10% better than most of other zip compatible programs.
How can one go wrong with those numbers?