WinRAR 5.70 Review

[jasonX]

WinRAR Official Home Page

WinRAR  FAQ

Download WinRAR 5.70 x64 HERE

Download WinRAR 5.70 x32 HERE

Download WinRAR Themes HERE

WinRAR Official Support Page

WinRAR Official Contact / Feedback Page

For any issues/concerns with WinRAR please send email to,
dev@rarlab.com

 

WinRAR offers a 40 day trial usage of without limitations of its features. At the end of the 40 day period a license is needed to further the program. 

 

SOME ALTERNATIVES TO WINRAR

 

WinZIP

7-ZIP

PeaZIP

Bandizip

PowerArchiver

Ashampoo ZIP Pro 2

FINAL WORD

WinRAR as archiver is pretty much simple to use and reliable. The most significant issue connected with the release of this version was the developer’s workaround and fix to the reported vulnerability by Nadav Grossman from Check Point Software Technologies (see also What's New #21 and reported in GFYI's thread here). WinRAR has since version 5.70 has dropped "ACE support" altogether citing that the last WinAce version was way back 2007 and the availability of "real-life" Ace archives (not just test samples). Also the customer feedback of this current version is that users are not annoyed with the "ACE support" removal since they do not use .ace archives anymore. 

An official quote from WinRAR developer Eugene Roshal,

from WinRAR developer Mr. Eugene Roshal
...Regarding ACE support removal: it is difficult to find real life ACE archives, not some test samples, these days. Last WinAce version was out in 2007 and even www.winace.com does not work anymore...

...Based on WinRAR 5.70 feedback we already have, vast majority of users is "not annoyed" by this removal, since they do not have ".ace archives" anymore. 

 
One significant finding in the rough comparison made was WinRAR version 5.70's creation time of the "4gb ISO folder (2.86 GB)" in ZIP and in RAR format. WinRAR version 5.70 clocked 9 minutes for ZIP archive format while in RAR archive format it was 8 minutes. The average creation time for the ZIP is 2.64 minutes while in RAR archive format WinRAR version 5.70 was 6.5 minutes slower when compared with PowerArchiver 2018 Pro (clocked 1.5 minutes). The size of the archives created can be waived off as the difference is minimal (though this may depend on the user). There were no errors encountered with WinRAR version 5.70 and alternatives during the rough comparison proper.

Please see comparison table again in "Comparison of WinRAR ver5.70 to alternatives (ZIP format) / Comparison of WinRAR ver5.70 to PowerArchiver 2018 Pro (RAR format)" above. 

As with any product/software application, customer feedback is needed to make any product function the way it should be and at the same time keep the user safe from any issues that may arise with using it. It is the way the software maker/developers handle/improve such issues and vulnerabilities pointed out on their product. On my experience WinRAR support was as always professional on my inquiries and as attested previously when I reviewed WinRAR version 5.60 their feedback mechanism is superb. For that matter any user (or anyone) can send feedback/inquiries or email correspondence to WinRAR and they open to respond to whatever issues or inquiries sent. 

Which is the better choice...WinRAR version 5.70 or alternatives presented here? The finding in the "comparison portion" is just a rough comparison and may not be sufficient to yield a "proper choice". As mentioned (at the start of the review) even I use 7-Zip, BandiZIP and PeaZip and each has their own strength / purpose (as I interface with our manufacturing counterparts) thus it is solely on the user to determine what is the "best archiver" for him according to his preference and needs. 

Would I want WinRAR version 5.70 around? Yes, it is a keeper for me.