WinRAR 5.90 Review

[tarekma7]

WinRAR is a Windows data compression tool that focuses on the RAR and ZIP data compression formats for all Windows users. It can also unpack most known file formats such as RAR, ZIP, ISO, CAB, 7ZIP and many more. Using WinRAR; you can backup your data and reduce the size of email attachments, decompress RAR, ZIP and other files downloaded from Internet and create new archives in RAR and ZIP file format. 

The program is on top of archiving software category for more than 20 years. It is small in size, easy to use, offer many options, friendly user interface. No doubt it is one of the most popular applications with over 500 million users worldwide. It is the best way to compress files for efficient and secure file transfer, faster e-mail transmission and well organized data storage.

The program is compatible with Windows 10, available in over 50 languages in both 32bit and 64bit and several operating systems. It is the only compression software that is fully accepted in all countries using Unicode.

WinRAR is easier to use than many other archivers with the inclusion of a special "Wizard" mode, this allows instant access to the basic archiving functions with a simple question and answer procedure. This avoids confusion in the early stages of use. 

Current version :  5.90



Download:

WinRAR 5.90 64-bit can be downloaded at:

 https://www.win-rar.com/fileadmin/winrar...64-590.exe

WinRAR 5.90 32-bit can be downloaded at:

https://www.win-rar.com/fileadmin/winrar...rar590.exe

Multi Language Support:

WinRAR is available in over 40 languages 

System Requirements:

WinRAR is compatible with Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7 and Windows Vista. For all Android users, the RAR App is available on Google Play. The command line version of WinRAR is also available for Linux, FreeBSD and MAC OS X.

Free Trial: 

You can download and install the program on your computer. The process is very easy and needs only few minutes to complete. Now, you will have 40 days free trial with full features after which you need a license to continue using the program.  

User Interface is very friendly, intuitive and easy to use. You can change the program look through download and use of your favorite themes. There is menu bar with buttons which include all the program features (such as file, command, options, tools...) 



Multilingual support (more than 50 languages supported)  

Features: 

Supports all popular compression formats such as RAR, ZIP and non RAR archives including; CAB, ARJ, LZH, TAR, GZip, UUE, ISO, BZIP2, Z and 7-Zip.
Combine files split to multiple parts with .001, .002, ... extensions. Open .001 file as a usual archive and then unpack its contents.
Integrated additional functions to help you organize your compressed archives.
Efficient, secure, fast and save disk space
Using solid archiving; it can raise compression ratio by 10% - 50% over more common methods
Helps you to split archives into separate volumes easily This is useful in many conditions as large sized files and save on several disks.
Accepted in all countries using Unicode
Helps you in fast email transmission and enables you to send many attached files
Support multimedia files: automatically recognizes and selects the best compression method.
Highly sophisticated, original compression algorithm optimized for text, audio, graphics
Shell Integration with support for drag and drop feature and wizard tool
Create self-extracting archives through the built in SFX tool
Available in two forms; graphic interactive interface and command line interface
Recovery record and recovery volumes allow to reconstruct even physically damaged archives
Uses CRC32 and BLAKE2 checksums to check the integrity of each file in the archive
Backup your data
Supports encryption (256-bit password) to secure your files against unauthorized access
Small size
Easy to use with friendly user interface
Minimal system requirements
Compatible with windows 10
Available in both 32 and 64 versions
Multilingual support: WinRAR supports 50 languages which lets any user to enjoy using the program in his own language
Supports many themes.
WinRAR licenses are valid for all available language and platform versions. 

NEW Features in version 5.90:

With this release, WinRAR’s continual improvement provides users with a multi-functional, user-friendly compression and archiving software, with an intuitive interface featuring state-of-the-art options for downsizing, extracting, securing, restoring, repairing, sharing and managing files. 

WinRAR now takes advantage of the latest developments in the hardware market, such as processors with over 16 cores. It has been trimmed to use these additional cores for processing WinRAR compression tasks even faster than before. 

Also, there are performance enhancements in repairing damaged archives and improvements of the displayed file information within the WinRAR Graphical User Interface, which increases the overall usability and user-friendliness.

RAR Compression Speed Enhancements:

More and more multi-core CPUs with 16 or more cores are released and installed on users’ PCs, and with the new WinRAR 5.90 version, these CPU improvements can dramatically increase the RAR compression speed in such environments. 

This optimization of the RAR5 compression speed, with the normal and fastest method, will provide a higher ratio on all CPUs and work even faster on high-core-count CPUs with 16 or more cores. In addition, it increases the maximum number of used threads from 32 to 64. For command-line users, the -mt<threads> switch now accepts values of 1 to 64.

Wide Format Support:

WinRAR is the best choice for handling compressed formats such as RAR, ZIP, CAB, ARJ, TAR, 7-zip and many more. To continue to support a wide range of compression formats, we have also added extraction support for GZIP archives with an optional header checksum field.

Usability Enhancements:

WinRAR now displays packed and unpacked folder sizes when browsing in the archive contents. Also, the user can now resize archiving and extraction progress windows and some other progress windows.

The repair feature of RAR5 archives with recovery records and without data shifts has been improved compared to previous versions. It is now possible to repair RAR5 archives with encrypted file names without providing a password, but the user still requires the password to open the repaired archive!

As usual, bugs which occurred during the usage of previous WinRAR versions have been fixed to provide all WinRAR users with a stable and bug-free version.

Here is a list on the new features in more details:

"Fastest" method (-m1 command line equivalent) typically achieves  a higher compression ratio for highly compressible data types  when creating RAR5 archives.

Maximum number of utilized threads is increased from 32 to 64. Command line -mt<threads> switch accepts values from 1 to 64.

"Multithreading" parameter on "General" page of WinRAR settings is replaced with "Threads" input field, where you can specify the desired number of CPU threads. It can take values from 1 to maximum number of available logical CPU units.



WinRAR displays packed and unpacked folder sizes when browsing archive contents.



"Total folders" field is added to list of archive parameters displayed by WinRAR "Info" command. Same field is added to "Archive" page in archive properties in Windows Explorer.



Window including a progress bar and "Cancel" button is displayed if reading archive contents takes noticeable time. It can be useful for archive formats with slower access to contents, such as large TAR based archives like .tar.gz and tar.bz2.

Archiving and extraction progress windows, also as progress windows for some other commands, can be resized.
     
"Repair" performance for RAR5 archives with recovery record and without data shifts is improved. It deteriorated in WinRAR 5.80 and is now restored to original level.

 Password prompt is not issued when performing recovery record based repair for RAR5 archives with encrypted file names. This command can be performed without providing a password.

 If folder for converted archives in "Convert archives" command does not exist, WinRAR attempts to create it. Previous versions  failed to create converted archives in non-existent destination folder.

Added extraction support for GZIP archives with optional header checksum field.  

 Bugs fixed:

 "Repair" command could erroneously display "Recovery record is corrupt" message when processing an archive with valid recovery record. This message did not prevent further repair operation;

 If quick open information option was set to "Do not add" in default compression profile and this profile was loaded by some command or dialog, WinRAR ignored quick open information when browsing contents of RAR archives. For example, it happened after opening archiving or password dialogs;

 Ctrl+C "Copy" shortcut key did not work in archive comment window;

 If "Put each file to separate archive" and "Archives in subfolders" options were set, WinRAR ignored the destination path specified in archive name field.

Key Features: 

Open and Extraction of an archive:

Using the program you can open and decompress any supported archive format using the right context menu items; or from within the application itself using extract to specific location.



Extraction Path  and Options:



Archiving (Compression):

You can quickly add any files or folders to an archive. The process is very easy and can be completed using the right context menu or from within the application using the built-in browser 

This will save you disk space, transmission costs and valuable working time as well.  

WinRAR supports all popular compression formats (RAR, ZIP, CAB, ARJ, LZH, TAR, GZip, UUE, ISO, BZIP2, Z and 7-Zip). It supports files and archives up to 8,589 billion gigabytes in size. The number of archived files is unlimited. 

WinRAR is ideal for multimedia files and it automatically recognizes and selects the best compression method.



Compression Options:



RAR5 Default Archive format: 

When users archive or share files, they will benefit from an outstanding compression ratio and fast compression rate to save space and bandwidth. WinRAR and command line RAR use RAR 5.0 archive format by default. The user can change it to RAR 4.x compatible format with "RAR4" option in archiving dialog. 

Split archives:

WinRAR allows you to split archives into separate volumes easily, making it possible to save them on several disks for example. It will be easier to send via email attachments

Encryption



This is a very important built-in feature which offers good protection of your files against any unauthorized access. You can encrypt your files with 256-bit strong encryption feature; available with RAR5 format. 

The process is very easy, simply use password button during creation of archives or for any existing archive on your computer.

In addition, the usability of decompression dialog of password protected archives has been improved. If a wrong password has been entered when unpacking an encrypted RAR5 archive, WinRAR now proposes to enter a valid password for the same file instead of aborting extraction.

RAR passwords are stored in password manager “organize passwords button” and protected using master password

The security of other compression file formats has also been improved from. WinRAR uses AES-256 by default in CTR mode to encrypt ZIP archives as it is significantly more secure than the ZIP 2.0 legacy encryption algorithm.

Recovery Record Feature:

In addition to the Encryption Feature, WinRAR‘s strength lies in the recovery of data in partially damaged archives. Especially with the new format RAR5, the Recovery Record is based on Reed-Solomon codes. This helps increasing the chance of data recovery significantly.

Shell integration: so that you can use most of the program features via right context menu options. For example: You can extract, add to archive and many more



SFX tool :  

Create self-extracting archives through the built in SFX tool. This allows you to send compressed files to any user with no archiving software needed to extract the contents. 



Wizards Feature:  

This is a built-in tool which helps you to create new archive or unpack (extract) any archive on your computer or add files to already present archive. You will need to select one of the three options available and go with simple steps to complete. 



Recovery record and recovery volumes: 

This feature allows to reconstruct even physically damaged archives 

Integrated virus scan  specify security software to automatically scan compressed files for any threats 

Search feature:  

You can easily find any files you need whether in an archive or in folders, drives or whole hard drive 



Test and repair of archives, this helps to repair any corrupted or damaged archives. You will not lose any important information.



Convert archives into other supported formats and to SFX format which allows you to extract the archive with no need to use the program 

Get information about the archive: this feature allows you to have all information you need about the archive. You can also add your comments to the archive. 

Right Context menu options of the files in an archive:



Settings:

Settings can be accessed under Option Menu. These are categorized under 7 buttons: 



General settings include the options that control toolbar, buttons, system, history, interface, logging 

Compression: include the options for file compression such as compression profiles, split volume sized, default folder for archives, default folder for extracted files, 

Path: include folder for temporary files (used with removable disc) and start up folder 

File list: list type, style, files, selection and set font 

Viewer: Viewer type (Internal or external or associated program or ask), internal viewer options, external viewer name. 

Security options as file types excluded from extraction, wipe temporary files and virus scanner 

Integration options include the file types associated with the program, shell integration, Interface (add to desktop, start menu or create program WinRAR group) and context menu items. 



Conclusion: 

WinRAR is the best archiving software. It has many advantages being powerful, easy to use, doesn't cause any slow down of your systgem and support a lot of formats with many built-in features and tools. I am using it since a long time and never have any problem. It is also very fast with small size and friendly user interface 

Important Links: 

Homepage: 

http://www.win-rar.com 

The current version is 5.90 final, released on 30.03.2020

Download:

https://www.win-rar.com/download.html?L=0 

Support: 

https://www.win-rar.com/support.html?L=0 

New Features: 

https://www.win-rar.com/whatsnew.html?&L=0 

FAQs: 

https://www.win-rar.com/faq.html?&L=0 

WinRAR Encryption FAQ: 

https://www.win-rar.com/enc_faq.html?&L=0