Windows users will know the primary choice for creating file archives is the ZIP format. Basic support for opening ZIP archives is built in to Windows and Mac OS X and it's probably the most universal format available. However, there are plenty of alternatives, including the RAR format, which has been around for longer than most others and can be open/accessed by most archive management tools. It offers more control and security over your archives and better compression.

WinRAR 3.7 is a commercial archive management solution that primary revolves around the RAR compression format, although it supports ZIP and many others. WinRAR and the RAR compression format has a loyal fanbase and is worth evaluating.

30 May 2007