| WinZip is a proprietary file archiver and compressor for Microsoft Windows, developed by WinZip Computing (formerly Nico Mak Computing). It natively uses the PKZIP format but also has various levels of support for other archive formats.
WinZip was created in the early 1990s as a shareware GUI front-end for PKZIP. Sometime around 1996 the creators of WinZip incorporated compression code from the Info-ZIP project, thus eliminating the need for the PKZIP executable to be present.
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. As of version 10.0 this upgrade scheme was discontinued.[1] WinZip is available in standard and professional versions. However, the ability of Windows XP and Windows Vista to open .zip files (as \"compressed folders\") has reduced sales.
In May 2006, Corel Corporation, known for its WordPerfect and CorelDRAW product lines, announced that it has completed acquisition of WinZip Computing.[2]
WinZip has a 45-day free evaluation period, after which the program would still work even if the user had not registered, albeit with reduced functionality. However in later versions this feature appears to have been removed, although users are able to bypass this by downloading an earlier version
to install run the exe and use the included serial. |
