WinRAR
is a shareware file
archiver and data
compression utility developed by Eugene
Roshal and distributed by Alexander Roshal, first released in
autumn of 1993. It uses the RAR archive
file format, proprietary to its developer, and can
also create archives in the ZIPformat. WinRAR runs under Microsoft
Windows in GUI mode;
there are command-line versions, called "RAR", for Mac OS X, Linux,
FreeBSD, Windows console mode, and MS-DOS.
From version 5, a new archive format, RAR5, is supported,
incompatible with the previous one, but also using file
extension .RAR. With the introduction of RAR5, the older format
is referred to as RAR4. The new version can open and create RAR4 archives, but
older versions do not support RAR5 archives.
The software is distributed as a shareware and anyone may
use it during a test period of 40 days at no charge. Following this test
period, the software license requires purchase of a license to continue using
the software. Usage of the software after the test period without purchasing a
license is possible (it will show a warning), but according to the software
license, it will result in immediate and automatic termination of the shareware
license and may result in criminal or civil prosecution.
Functions
Support for its own RAR and ZIP archives,
and unpacking of ARJ, LZH, TAR, GZ, ACE, UUE, BZ2, JAR, ISO, EXE, 7z, Z,
and xzarchives.
Multithreaded compression
The ability to create self-extracting and multi-volume (split) archives.
Data redundancy is provided in the
form of recovery records and recovery volumes, allowing
reconstruction of damaged archives.
Support for advanced NTFS file system
options
Unicode in file names.
Archive encryption using AES (Advanced Encryption
Standard) with a 256-bit key.
There was a portable version
of WinRAR called WinRAR Unplugged, which did not require installation or create
dependencies on the host computer.
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