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With version 14 of this venerable archiving tool, WinZip aims specifically at Windows 7 compliance and enhancements, and adds a few other new features, too. WinZip in Windows 7 gets extensive support for libraries, tools, and recent archives in the jumplist, previews in Windows Explorer for certain file types, and basic touch-screen support. Multitouch support is limited to rotating pictures previewed from WinZip archives.

WinZip 14 also includes minor security enhancements. New automatic wiping keeps confidential data secret by "shredding" the temporary file that WinZip creates by default whenever it opens an archive. The shredding uses U.S. … Read more

One of the best-known Windows utilities, archive creator and manager WinZip updates to version 14 with the future in mind--the future of Windows. The new features in WinZip 14 are aimed squarely at Windows 7 users, with extensive support for Windows 7 libraries, recent archives in the jumplist, and tool tweaks to bring them more in line with the new operating system. Certain file types can be previewed from within an archive in Windows Explorer, and basic touch screen support.

With archive previews, you can click on an archive and the files it contains will appear in list form in … Read more

YemuZip is a simple, free utility with a single purpose: to help you easily create Mac- and PC-friendly ZIP files with just a quick drag and drop. The Mac OS already includes ZIP-compression functionality (which you can access through contextual menus), but YemuZip add some extras--most importantly, the option to choose between Mac-specific and PC-compatible formats, removing the Mac metadata in the resource fork that can otherwise make ZIP files made on a Mac unreadable on PCs.

You just drag files into YemuZip's main window, or onto the YemuZip Dock icon, and the app creates a zipped archive in … Read more

SecureZIP is a program that allows users to create ZIP files that are secured by a password or security certificate. Although the program functions well, its interface could be more intuitive.

The interface is sleek and clean, with a reasonable number of buttons, which are labeled. But the way the program works just isn't immediately clear. If we want to create a new ZIP file, do we click New, as in new ZIP file? Or perhaps Open, to select the documents we want to include in the ZIP file? No, it turns out, we want to Add. We selected … Read more

A new interface kicks off TurboZip 8, a reliable compression alternative to WinZip. The easy-to-use archiving tool now supports an even wider range of formats, including 7Z, MS Office 2007 archives, ISO, and BZIP. Two new features make it worth considering: the robust preview feature that makes peering into archived files much simpler, and the Auto Compress Script, which allows you to build new archives based on predetermined criteria.

The preview window can show the contents of not just JPEG and DOC files, but MSI, EXE, and others. It's also blazingly fast, and previewed large files without delay. A … Read more

Encrypting your sensitive documents is a great way to protect against the wandering virtual eyes of Internet hackers. EncyptOnClick offers a simple way to turn away predators.

This freeware program's interface cuts right to the basics of encryption and eliminates any guesswork. A simple box offers a choice between encrypting files and folders and another offers a chance to decrypt folders and files. Encryption is a snap. Users just click on the box and find the folder or file they wish to secure by searching through a file tree. Once chosen the program asks for a password and asks … Read more

Don't be fooled by this simple backup program's simple appearance. It successfully backed up our files and folders and managed to throw in a few extras.

DFIncBackup Home has a very intuitive and straightforward user interface. The helpful wizard will especially appeal to users who are new to backup programs. Experienced users will appreciate the scheduling and password-protection features. The Edit menu was a little cluttered, but we were able to edit all of the backup configurations we had set while using the wizard with little effort. The Configurations menu let us check for free disk space on … Read more

While we could have done without the product pushes, this free file compression tool delivered good results. We especially liked its drag-and-drop functionality for creating new zip files.

There are three ways to access TyphoonZip's user interface: desktop shortcut, taskbar shortcut, and your context menu. The interface is nice to look at, and very easy to navigate. It consists of one window, with prominent command buttons for creating new zip files, opening zip files, and more. When right-clicking on the taskbar icon, we were a little put off by the long list of extra tools that require you to … Read more