Do you have several large-sized files on your computer occupying hard disk space? Compression utilities like WinZip can make it easier for you to compress all that data for emailing to other people or save space on your disk. Plus, it comes with added benefits of advanced security with encryption capability.
The software was launched in 2004 for Windows operating system but over the years it has added support for Android, Mac, and iOS. All versions of WinZip offer support for basic and advanced encryption and compression, email compression, and various other features.
Among its wide range of useful features is the capability to run more than one file compressions. WinZip creates archives in the form of ZIP, ZIPX, LZH, and LHA files. Furthermore, it supports file extraction from various formats including TAR and RAR.
The software has a free trial version, and once it ends you can choose to buy the paid version that starts from $29.95. The paid versions of WinZip can be classified into three tiers: Standard, Pro, and Ultimate. Each tier has a different price bracket. You can keep using the software for free, but it usually runs into problems without proper updates and maintenance. The price is comparatively high given that it’s a compression utility, which is why the trial version can help you evaluate whether you should opt for the paid version.
Another amazing feature of this utility is that it is integrated with a PDF converter that can transform PDF files to MS Word and vice versa. It also includes another time-saving feature known as ZipSend, which attaches large files in emails, zips them, and sends. The best part about WinZip is that it can unzip files without using any third-party application for unpacking.
WinZip gives added support for privacy by offering 256-bit AES encryption capability. In addition, you can burn files directly to DVDs or CDs, and for that too you can run multiple burns at the same time. Surprisingly, the performance of writing compression files isn’t affected by running simultaneous tasks. Similarly, the compression speed for archiving or compressing emails is impressive as well.
Coming to usability, WinZip is one of the user-friendly options out there that supports drag and drop actions to add files, specify default folders to extract files, sort files by column name, save new archives, modify view mode, and customize columns. You can even use it to split files by size. It also gives you the option to select between different compression modes, create self-extracting files, and test archives.
Besides compression and extraction, you can also use the utility to resize images and add watermark to PDF files and pictures. You can also integrate it with various cloud storage services, such as Google Drive, Dropbox, Mediafire, etc. Plus, you get a separate plug-in for Microsoft Outlook with WinZip.
In short, most reviews consider WinZip a good utility for encrypting and compressing files across multiple platforms. The compression speed is considered good for this utility. But if you’re not sure, you can take it for a trial spin and make your purchase decision based on your experience.
