Compression Tools (for beginners)

Today I will share with you some of the compression tools that i personally recommend and use them ...
in upcoming posts I will also tell about various compression algorithms...

7-Zip

7-Zip is a well-known open-source alternative to paid compression software. It has earned a large user base, despite its plain (almost dull) interface because it works well—and for most people, that's more than enough to make up for bland design.

7-Zip's 7Z format packs down smaller than the standard ZIP.

Although it can use the standard .zip format, 7-Zip touts its own compression format, 7Z, which makes smaller archives. 7-Zip shrank my 30MB folder down to 25.8MB when I opted for the zip format, but compressed that same folder down to 22.1MB in 7Z.

7-Zip offers strong encryption, which includes password-protecting the actual files as well as encrypting the file names. It also integrates into the Windows Explorer right-click menu, so you can immediately compress any file with a click of the mouse. There's even a command line version for those who are more at home in the Windows command box.

The downside is the wait time for this relatively small boost: Compressing the folder into a 7Z file took well over two minutes, versus 15 seconds for compressing to ZIP.DOWNLOAD HERE !!

PeaZip

PeaZip has a lot going for it right out of the gate. It's open-source, it claims to open up to 150 different kinds of compressed files, and it has a portable version that doesn't require installation. True, its interface is a bit plain, but I can forgive that when considering the pros of using PeaZip.

PeaZip is a hyper-competent free compression utility.

One of PeaZip's best features is its random password generator. Just specify how many characters you want in the password and, with the click of a button, it makes a password for you. Don't like it? Hit the button again and get another one. Additional security features include strong encryption and the ability to securely delete your files. To take advantage of this, just click the "Secure Delete" button in the toolbar, and your files are gone for good.

In terms of compression, PeaZip's performance was mixed. It compressed my 30MB folder into a 26MB zip file, just as 7-Zip did. But PeaZip includes additional compression methods—16 in all—and includes the ability to split the file up into different pieces.

You can specify your own file size for each piece, or choose one of the pre-set sizes. For example, if you wanted to email a 30MB folder, you could split it up into two chunks, one of them 24.5MB and the other one 1.5MB, and send them separately. However, the person at the other end would need the PeaZip software to put it all back together again. DOWNLOAD HERE!!

Universal Extractor

Universal Extractor is extremely useful for opening archives, but it does have a limitation if you want to create an archive. And that limitation is severe: UniExtractor can't create anything. As its name implies, UniExtractor only extracts. But despite this limitation, it is a neat little app to have.

Universal Extractor decompresses everything, compresses nothing.

UniExtractor lives in your Windows right-click menu, waiting for compressed files that need opening. The user-interface (such as it is) is spartan, with a tiny box and few preferences to select.

But Universal Extractor isn't getting by on its looks. It's surviving on its functionality.  It claims to be able to open any type of compressed file available. Whether it's a ZIP, a RAR, a TAR or a JAR, UniExtractor claims to be able to handle it with ease...and it did manage all of the files I threw at it. If you need to only open compressed files (and not create them), UniExtractor is the only software you'll ever need.

That said, Universal Extractor's developer gives no precise information about what versions of Windows the software runs on. In my tests, it worked well on Windows 7 and Windows 8 desktop. For anything less than Windows 7, you'll have to make your backups and try your luck.DOWNLOAD HERE!!

IZArc 4.1.8.2988

IZArc is a freeware archive utility supporting many archive formats like: 7-ZIP, A, ACE, ARC, ARJ, B64, BH, BIN, BZ2, BZA, C2D, CAB, CDI, CPIO, DEB, ENC, GCA, GZ, GZA, HA, IMG, ISO, JAR, LHA, LIB, LZH, MDF, MBF, MIM, NRG, PAK, PDI, PK3, RAR, RPM, TAR, TAZ, TBZ, TGZ, TZ, UUE, WAR, XXE, YZ1, Z, ZIP, ZOO. With a modern easy-to-use interface, IZArc provides support for most compressed and encoded files, as well as access to many powerful features and tools. It allows you to drag and drop files from and to Windows Explorer, create and extract archives directly in Windows Explorer, create multiple archives spanning disks, creating self-extracting archives, repair damaged zip archives, converting from one archive type to another, view and write comments and many more. IZArc has also build-in multilanguage support.

If you need to send large files to your colleagues, friends or customers who may not have archiving tool you can easily create self-extracting archive that can be extracted by simple double click.

IZArc can be configured to run your preferred Anti-Virus scanner when you open any archives. It also supports 256-bit AES encryption to secure your data.  DOWNLOAD HERE!!

UHARC 

non GUI interface(will be covered in next post)

UHARC is an Algorithm developed by Uwe Herklotz for the lossless compression of data. The files are compressed better than pack files eg. WinRAR, WinZip; at the expense of time. The program is free to use. Applications can use its algorithms e.g. WinUHA and UHARC GUI. UHARC uses the algorithms ALZ, PPM and LZP. DOWNLOAD HERE!!!  this is a GUI version of UHARC.. but i will tell about the non GUI version in next post because it's a little tricky to understand the commands..