What are RAR and ZIP compressed files?
If you are new to Windows PC, let me explain that rar and zip are two popular file compression formats. Your friend or coworker might send an email, or download a file from the Internet in either format; but beware – once it becomes infected with a virus, the contents of either zip or.rar may no longer be accessible. Although.zip or.rar files do not typically contain viruses, the virus could potentially be hidden within them. Be cautious when unzipping any zip or rar file from an unfamiliar source. Archivers can compress a document or video, decreasing their size and speeding them up for loading quickly. Some of us even compress files for long-term storage purposes since it takes up less room on your HDD after packing the document in zip or.rar format.
How to open RAR and ZIP compressed files on Windows 10?
When it comes to opening RAR and ZIP files online, there are a lot of free programs that come highly recommended. WinRAR is one of the more expensive options but by closing its pop-up box you can continue using it without paying anything.
To extract the contents from a RAR or ZIP file, right-click it and select “Extract to”. WinRAR will create a new folder with the same file name, where all extracted contents will be saved.
For instance, my archive file requires that I enter 123 as its password.
After that, a folder will be created with the same name as the zip or archive file being decompressed, and all its contents extracted. With this trick, WinRAR won’t display any pop-up ads to buy their software.
Another method for extracting content from an archive file is by double-clicking it open. A dialog box for purchasing WinRAR will appear upon doing this.
Click on the content to select it, then hold with your left mouse button and drag it away into a clear space on your desktop or in a folder. Archive content will now be copied where desired.
WinRAR is the most renowned archive program, and you can download its decompression software here.FF