Microsoft announced on Tuesday that it is working to add native Windows support for tar, 7-zip, RAR, gz and many other archive formats. The company didn’t develop a new decompression utility, instead relying on the open-source libarchive project. The wait and pain for users has lasted nearly three decades, but soon they will no longer need to download unzip tools, dodge malware and payment prompts. The message was well received by users and they took the opportunity to express their relief on social networks.
Windows has native support for the Zip file format since Windows 98. Back then, hard drives were small and slow – adjectives that could also refer to the amount of data and the speed of the connections. Internet switches of that time. The download times could therefore be shortened by reducing the file size. At the same time, connection speeds have also increased. Microsoft called zipped files “compressed folders” and they have survived in Windows to this day. However, it wasn’t the only popular archive format on the internet.
The world is full of other compression tools (WinRAR, 7-Zip…) and associated file formats. Archive file formats such as RAR and tar are very popular on the Internet, but Windows has never supported these formats natively. Therefore, tools like WinRAR have become indispensable for Windows users working with files compressed in exotic formats. While some applications like 7-Zip are free and open-source, other tools like the very popular WinRAR generally require the purchase of a paid license after a few days’ free trial.
Can’t believe I’m going to give up a desktop app after using it for most of my computing life 😀
— Phil 🦊 (@philippinfanger) May 23, 2023
Criminals have also noticed the constant demand for decompressors, making them a target for adware and malware. Many download websites have also tried to confuse Windows users looking for unzip tools with dark patterns and trick them into unintentional downloads. And when Microsoft released Windows 11, users expected major changes like native support for more archive file formats, but were annoyed that the built-in unzip tool didn’t live up to expectations.
This brand new operating system from one of the biggest tech companies in the world is advanced enough to extract ZIP files – a compression format that originated in 1989 – but failed to extract RAR files dating back to 1993 or 7z files, which date back to 1999. So 30 years and 12 different Windows versions were not enough to integrate support for this type of advanced decompression. For years, Windows users encountering these formats have had to search the web for decompression tools. But things were soon to change.
Apparently, at one point someone at Microsoft seemed to get fed up with screwing up their RAR operations and decided there had to be a better way of doing things. And in a blog post on Tuesday, subtitled “Reducing the web,” Microsoft announced some helpful updates to the Windows UI, and then, very casually and by the way, the following:
Sent by Microsoft
Next to…
Using the libarchive open source project, we’ve added native support for more archive formats including tar, 7-zip, RAR, gz and many more. You can now experience better performance of the archiving feature when compressing on Windows.
The library has been integrated into other operating systems for many years and native support for RAR files (as well as other popular archive formats) is a longstanding habit for many. Here are some advantages of native support for RAR archive format:
- user friendliness : Native RAR support makes it easy to open and extract RAR files without installing additional software (a third-party decompression tool like WinRAR).
- compatibility : Native RAR support is compatible with a wide range of RAR files.
- Performance : Native RAR support can improve performance when opening and extracting RAR files.
RAR format has been one of the most popular archive file formats for decades. Its name is an acronym for Roshal Archive as it was founded 30 years ago by a Russian engineer named Eugene Roshal. Two years later, in 1995, Roshal also developed the famous WinRAR file archiving utility. This program has been constantly updated since then and a beta version was released last week. Using WinRAR or similar programs was the only way to open RAR files in Windows since Microsoft never added native support for the format. But now it’s done.
Impressively! This is an update that I support.
—bosay831gaming (@bosay831gaming) May 23, 2023
The addition of support for RAR and other archive formats in Windows 11 could affect third-party file compression software. With the ability to manage RAR files directly in Windows, users may no longer need an additional tool like WinRAR. WinRAR’s reputation as the must-have software for PC users might be damaged. However, some users may still need third-party software for advanced features. In fact, the RAR support built into Windows might be enough for many users.
However, those who need more comprehensive file management can always resort to software such as WinRAR. The Redmond-based company hasn’t announced a specific timeline for implementing RAR support in Windows 11. However, it is clear that this feature is in the works and will be rolled out in the near future. Also, testing of this feature has already started (on the Windows Insider channel). This indicates that users will soon be able to open, extract and compress files in RAR format – or tar, 7-zip and gz – directly in the operating system.
Source: microsoft
And you ?
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See also
19-year-old WinRAR vulnerability leads to over 100 malware exploits, but has been fixed in the latest version
19-year-old WinRAR vulnerability leads to 100+ malware exploits, but has been fixed in the latest version
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