What Is a RAR File and How to Open Them
By Timothy Tibbetts |
Sooner or later, you may come across a file you download that ends in the RAR extension instead of the EXE, ZIP, or MSI format that you're accustomed to. In this guide, we explain what a RAR file is and how you can use it.
Simply put, RAR is just another format for compressing files into an archive. If you've ever downloaded a ZIP file, then a RAR file works in the same way. RAR can be used for portable software or to compress a file to make the download smaller.
According to the official page, RAR claims to be different because it offers more convenient multipart (multivolume) archives, tight compression including the special solid mode, strong AES-256 encryption, recovery records to repair an archive even in case of physical data damage, Unicode support to process non-English file names and a lot more.
If you have a RAR file you need to open, you're going to need a free app. These apps are top-rated, not only to open RAR files but as a replacement for Windows built-in ZIP extractor because sooner or later, we all end up with a RAR, 7z, or other formats that Windows can't open. They're so popular that compression tools have their own category on MajorGeeks.
Here are our top freewarepicks.
7-Zip is a file archiver featuring a high compression ratio to extract or create compressed files in multiple formats. 7-Zip is completely free, open-source software with open source under the GNU LGPL license. Download at https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/7_zip.html
Zipware was designed to be a simple, fast tool to extract, create and convert numerous file types, including EXE, ZIP, RAR, RAR5, 7Z, ISO, GZIP and many more. Download at https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/zipware.html.
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PeaZip is a file manager or file archiver that can be used to open all popular compression types (over 180) including ZIP, ZIPX, RAR, 7Z, DMG, ACE, CAB, TAR, and ISO. PeaZip is available in 32-bit and 64-bit, as well as portable versions. Download at https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/peazip.html.
Shareware Apps
There are also a couple of shareware apps that people swear by. We use WinRar. Others swear by WinZip. If you find yourself using a lot of compressed files, you might find them worth the money, and these are the only two we'd consider spending money on.
Enjoy!
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Simply put, RAR is just another format for compressing files into an archive. If you've ever downloaded a ZIP file, then a RAR file works in the same way. RAR can be used for portable software or to compress a file to make the download smaller.
According to the official page, RAR claims to be different because it offers more convenient multipart (multivolume) archives, tight compression including the special solid mode, strong AES-256 encryption, recovery records to repair an archive even in case of physical data damage, Unicode support to process non-English file names and a lot more.
If you have a RAR file you need to open, you're going to need a free app. These apps are top-rated, not only to open RAR files but as a replacement for Windows built-in ZIP extractor because sooner or later, we all end up with a RAR, 7z, or other formats that Windows can't open. They're so popular that compression tools have their own category on MajorGeeks.
Here are our top freewarepicks.
7-Zip is a file archiver featuring a high compression ratio to extract or create compressed files in multiple formats. 7-Zip is completely free, open-source software with open source under the GNU LGPL license. Download at https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/7_zip.html
Zipware was designed to be a simple, fast tool to extract, create and convert numerous file types, including EXE, ZIP, RAR, RAR5, 7Z, ISO, GZIP and many more. Download at https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/zipware.html.
PeaZip is a file manager or file archiver that can be used to open all popular compression types (over 180) including ZIP, ZIPX, RAR, 7Z, DMG, ACE, CAB, TAR, and ISO. PeaZip is available in 32-bit and 64-bit, as well as portable versions. Download at https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/peazip.html.
Shareware Apps
There are also a couple of shareware apps that people swear by. We use WinRar. Others swear by WinZip. If you find yourself using a lot of compressed files, you might find them worth the money, and these are the only two we'd consider spending money on.
Enjoy!
comments powered by Disqus
