WinZip is a

trialware Shareware is a type of proprietary software that is initially shared by the owner for trial use at little or no cost. Often the software has limited functionality or incomplete documentation until the user sends payment to the software developer. ...

file archiver In computing, a file archiver is utility software that combines computer file, files into a single archive file or in less common cases, multiple files. A minimally designed archiver might concatenate the content of files along with file file n ...

and

compressor A compressor is a mechanical device that increases the pressure of a gas by reducing its volume. An air compressor is a specific type of gas compressor. Many compressors can be staged, that is, the gas is compressed several times in steps o ...

for

Microsoft Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

macOS macOS, previously OS X and originally Mac OS X, is a Unix, Unix-based operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 2001. It is the current operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. With ...

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

and Android. It is developed by WinZip Computing (formerly Nico Mak Computing), which is owned by

Alludo Cascade Parent Limited, trade name, doing business as Alludo ( ), is a Canadian software company headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, specializing in graphics processing. Formerly called the Corel Corporation ( ; from the abbreviation "Cowpland Rese ...

. The program can create archives in Zip file format, unpack some other archive file formats and it also has various tools for system integration.

History

WinZip 1.0 was released in April 1991 as a

graphical user interface A graphical user interface, or GUI, is a form of user interface that allows user (computing), users to human–computer interaction, interact with electronic devices through Graphics, graphical icon (computing), icons and visual indicators such ...

(GUI) front-end for

PKZIP PKZIP is a file archiving computer program A computer program is a sequence or set of instructions in a programming language for a computer to Execution (computing), execute. It is one component of software, which also includes softwar ...

. From version 6.0 until version 9.0, registered users could download the newest versions of the software, enter their original registration information or install over the top of their existing registered version, and thereby obtain a free upgrade. This upgrade scheme was discontinued as of version 10.0. On May 2, 2006, WinZip Computing was acquired by

Corel Corporation Cascade Parent Limited, doing business as Alludo ( ), is a Canadian software company headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, specializing in graphics processing. Formerly called the Corel Corporation ( ; from the abbreviation "Cowpland Research Laborat ...

using the proceeds from its

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...

Supported .ZIP archive features

* 128- and 256-bit key AES

encryption In Cryptography law, cryptography, encryption (more specifically, Code, encoding) is the process of transforming information in a way that, ideally, only authorized parties can decode. This process converts the original representation of the inf ...

in addition to the less secure PKZIP 2.0 encryption method used in earlier versions. The AES implementation, using Brian Gladman's code, was FIPS-197 certified, on March 27, 2003. However, Central Directory Encryption feature is not supported.No filename encryption in the .ZIP file format
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Release history

Windows

The ZIP file archive format (ZIP) was originally invented for

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few op ...

in 1989 by

Phil Katz Phillip Walter Katz (November 3, 1962 – April 14, 2000) was a computer programmer best known as the co-creator of the ZIP file format for data compression, and the author of PKZIP, a program for creating zip files that ran under DOS. ...

Mac

WinZip 1.0 for Mac OS X (November 16, 2010): Initial release is compatible with

Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and Delaware General Corporation Law, incorporated in Delaware. Intel designs, manufactures, and sells computer compo ...

Macs and can be run on v10.5 'Leopard.'

iOS

The iOS version was first released on February 17, 2012.

Android

WinZip Android was first released on June 19, 2012.

References

External links

* {{compression software 1991 software 2006 mergers and acquisitions Corel software data compression software file archivers Proprietary cross-platform software Windows compression software