Hamster ZIP Archiver

Hamster Soft

Hamster Free ZIP Archiver is a compression tool that, just like Winrar and Winzip, lets you reduce the size of any file by compressing it into a smaller file. It can also unzip files. The program has a really easy-to-use interface that lets you compress and decompress files by just dragging them on the window. Once there, you can change the compression settings and the number of packages you want to create, though it creates only one by default. Hamster Free ZIP Archiver supports almost all compression formats, including RAR, ZIP, 7Z, ARJ, and ISO, as well as the lesser-known IHA, IZH, BZ, and CAB formats. Hamster Free ZIP Archiver is an excellent alternative to Winrar. It offers a more polished and intuitive interface, and it has a higher speed of compression and decompression.

PowerArchiver

ConeXware, Inc.

The main compression/decompression programs out there, as everyone knows, are Winzip and Winrar. Still, there are plenty of other tools available that often outperform their more popular cousins, like the following. PowerArchiver is a compression/decompression utility for Windows that, learning from other similar tools, incorporates a good amount of features that make it equal in function and performance to the main file compressors out there. It has a well thought-out interface that makes using the program quite pleasant. The inclusion of plenty of features make it so that you'll never have to use another program. PowerArchiver supports all main compression formats, like ZIP, 7-Zip, CAB, GZIP, BZIP2, RAR, ACE, and ISO; and it barely consumes any memory, making it a great utility that's well worth your time to try out.

IZArc

Ivan Zahariev

Sometimes you need to compress files because they are too big to share throughout internet and if you compress them they become really smaller and faster to transfer. IZarc is an easy-to-use, free and fast compression tool that can help converting those big files into smaller ones. Although you can think IZarc is not an important program, when you'll try it you'll realize that it works pretty well and it offers the same features than other expensive solutions. It supports 7-ZIP, A, ACE, ARC, ARJ, B64, BH, BIN, BZ2, BZA, C2D, CAB, CDI, CPIO, DEB, ENC, GCA, GZ, GZA, HA, IMG, ISO, JAR, LHA, LIB, LZH, MDF, MBF, MIM, NRG, PAK, PDI, PK3, RAR, RPM, TAR, TAZ, TBZ, TGZ, TZ, UUE, WAR, XXE, YZ1, Z, ZIP and ZOO. It supports several decompression options, drag and drop and some tools to find out passwords for protected files.

Bandizip

Bandisoft

Bandizip is a file compressor and extractor that is lightweight and effective, with which you can reduce large files in minutes. Its ZIP algorithm is very fast and supports multi-core work, so speed will not be a problem. It allows users to create Zip, ZipX, TAR, TGZ, 7Z and EXE files, but decompresses almost all formats, including RAR and ISO. Its simple interface is very similar to most programs of this type, and users simply have to select files and drag them to the program in order to create a compressed file. Users can also select the compressed folder and choose the files they want to extract. The program is integrated within the context menu of Windows Explorer so users can extract or compress files quickly without opening the application.

PeaZip

PeaZip

PeaZip is a file compression and decompression tool that supports a number of different formats and introduces a new one: a pea file. This extension is an acronym for pack, encrypt, authenticate. Pea is an open-source format that is able to archive, compress, and divide any document into volumes in just one click. What's more, it supports integrity checks and encryption with authentication. The tool can work with more than 150 file formats including ACE, ARJ, CAB, DMG, ISO, LHA, RAR, UDF and ZIPX. In addition, it can convert files to 7Z, ARC, BZ2, GZ, *PAQ, PEA, QUAD/BALZ, TAR, UPX, WIM, XZ, and ZIP. PeaZip is a free open-source tool with a drag and drop interface, a robust encryption system, a password generate, a duplicate identifier, and a file deletion system, as well as a number of different characteristics that make it one of the best options for working with compressed files.

WinZip

WinZip

WinZip is the most known compressor over the net, and it is not because of luck but because it is easy to use and it has a lot of options we can perform with just one click. It supports several compression formats, such as TAR, gzip, UUencode, XXencode, BinHex, and MIME. ARJ, LZH, and ARC. It also allows you manage your files with your own favorite folder. A very good feature is that it allows its use with an antivirus without having to decompress all the files for scanning them. You can also integrate winzip in the contextual menus, so you will only have to click right button on any file to compress/decompress it, what is really interesting and saves a lot of time. It compresses and decompresses files in a few seconds with a highly remarkable accuracy.

WinRAR

RARLAB

WinRAR is a free app with which you can compress and decompress any file on your computer in a simple and effective way. This powerful software makes optimizing file organization, storage, and data transfer processes easy. In addition, the program integrates seamlessly into the Windows context menu, allowing you to create a RAR or ZIP file with any item on your computer in seconds. Download WinRAR for free to work with your files efficiently and securely. WinRAR allows you to reduce the size of your files without compromising quality. The compression efficiency of this tool is unmatched, both for saving hard drive space and speeding up file transfers. It also has high compression and decompression speeds to help you extract files from compressed formats in the shortest possible time. To decompress anything on your computer, regardless of its format, just double-click its icon. WinRAR supports various formats, so you can always work with ZIP, RAR, or 7Z files. Beyond that, when compressing your files, this tool supports CAB, ARJ, LZH, TAR, GZ, ACE, UUE, BZ2, JAR, and ISO formats, among many others. This app's versatility makes it an indispensable tool for your day-to-day life. When working with this tool, you can encrypt your documents with Rinjdael (AES-128), digital signatures, or modification blocking. With this additional layer of security, you can protect your personal information when compressing, decompressing, or transferring your documents. Download WinRAR for free to optimize your file management system with its wide range of features.

DiskGenius Free

Eassos Ltd

Undelete 360

File Recovery

Undelete 360 is the aplication you need to recover recently deleted or uninstalled files. No matter the disk they were stored in. Undelete 360 will analyse the drive you'll choose, no matter if it's a pendrive, a memory card, a removable USB HD, the HD itself or even the digital camera. The program will feature a list of recently deleted files and you'll only have to select the ones you want to recover and it will have it recovered. Undelete 360 can be very interesting, specially when you'll feel annoyed by that error and you'll need to recover some files.

Wise Data Recovery

Wise Cleaner

Wise Data Recovery is a free program designed to help you recover files that you may have accidentally deleted, or that disappeared mysteriously from your hard drive or USB memory. It doesn't matter what you've lost - photographs, text documents, or emails that have been 'permanently' erased and marked as empty space by your operating system are all eligible for recovery with this program. This tool is very easy to use, you can find a list of all the files you thought you'd lost with just a click. The list includes information about the deleted files' status, letting you know if each one is recoverable, or lost forever. Wise Data Recovery searches and recovers lost information quickly, precisely, and securely, no matter what kind of drive it's accessing. Thanks to this program, you'll be able to find your files, whether they be in a hard drive, USB, camera memory card, or other extractable device. Once you've seen the list, you can use a file search to filter the results by extension: images, documents, audio, video, compressed files, or email. And, if you remember the name of a given file, you can search by that as well. There's no longer any reason to get scared when you can't find a file, or empty the recycling bin 'by accident'.

Active File Recovery

LSoft Technologies Inc.

Active File Recovery is a file restoration app that allows you to recover data that has been lost for a variety of reasons, from unintentional deletion to malware infections and system errors. With Active File Recovery, you can rely on a file restoration method for both emergency situations and for continuous protection of your data. Active File Recovery offers you a comprehensive solution to safeguard your files. Active File Recovery allows you to recover deleted or damaged files, even if you have emptied the Recycle Bin or securely deleted the files. Likewise, Active File Recovery can restore data from partitions and volumes that have been lost or formatted, which helps you in cases of more serious data loss. Active File Recovery is capable of recovering over 150 different file types, such as Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, photos, videos, and more. In addition, the program can work with a variety of storage media, including hard disks, memory cards and USB drives. In this way, Active File Recovery ensures that you can restore your data regardless of the type of files or storage media you have used. Its interface is simple and attractive, and it has a number of practical features, such as the ability to locate lost files by name, date and size. In addition, it includes a recovery wizard that guides you step-by-step through the data restoration process. In summary, if you are looking for a powerful and easy-to-use data recovery solution, Active File Recovery is an excellent choice.

MiniTool Power Data Recovery

MiniTool Ltd

MiniTool Power Data Recovery is a program for recovering damaged information or information you thought you had lost from any hard drive, USB drive, or storage device. Best of all, you can do so without any prior knowledge; all you have to do is follow the steps on the screen. Using MiniTool Power Data Recovery is very simple. First, choose the device you want to scan for the files you want to recover. You can select a removable device or any of the hard drives that you have connected to your computer. You can even select specific folders on a hard drive. Then, simply wait for the program to finish its analysis. After a few minutes, MiniTool Power Data Recovery will show you a list of all the files and folders you can try to recover. You can see each item's name, size, creation date, and last modification date. Simply select the ones you want to recover and click on 'save.' One of the strengths of MiniTool Power Data Recovery is the wide variety of files that you can recover with it. This program is compatible with virtually all video, image, and text formats, as well as with most compressed files and even email files. MiniTool Power Data Recovery is a very useful tool, thanks to which you can attempt to recover damaged files and documents in a matter of minutes. Best of all, thanks to its simple interface, anyone can do it.

TestDisk And PhotoRec

Christophe Grenier

TestDisk & PhotoRec are two different application athough they are packed in only one so the user can enjoy both two together. On the one side, TestDisk check your HD partitions, it obtains the information of the partition chart, compare it and if it find any error, it repairs it. It's easy, just choose the partitions you want to check and what to do with them. No matter if you are a novice or an expert, TestDisk will suit your needs. On the other side, PhotoRec allows you to recover any lost image from memory cards, USB sticks or any other digital media storing device.

R-Studio

Posit

Have you mistakenly deleted any important file from your PC? Has a virus entered your system and it has deleted important information? Have you deleted those photos your friend gave you to store safely? Don't worry, you may recover them by using R-Studio. R-Studio is an utility for Windows that recovers files already deleted from the HD by searching for the files in the H and recovering the information that remains in it. It offers you a lot of features, so the searching of he files, photos and information will be easier and you can even recover files from an external HD or a disc image. If you need to recover important data from your HD, R-Studio can be a good choice.

Disk Drill

508 Software

Disk Drill Windows Data Recovery is an easy-to-use tool that helps you recover those files that you’ve deleted by mistake and that need to go back to your hard drive. The program works with music, videos, text documents and any other misplaced file. The best feature of program is that it works with your system’s hard drive, but it can also recover elements from devices plugged into your PC such as USBs, picture and video cameras, and memory cards. Disk Drill Windows Data Recovery can recover your files regardless of whether they were accidentally misplaced, a virus erased all its information or if the file was damaged by an unexpected restart. After a complete scan, the program shows you the missing files that can be recovered. Disk Drill Windows Data Recovery also makes sure that you don’t ever lose the files again. The 'recovery chamber' registers the metadata for the files you eliminate so you can always recover them if you ever need them back, without having to scan the system again.

Clonezilla

Clonezilla

Clonezilla is an open source tool made along the lines of the popular Norton Ghost, it lets you create backup copies and restore your system in case you ever need to do so because of some issue. You can do this by ripping the downloaded image directly onto a DVD, or through a USB device (for which a brief tutorial is included on the author's own website). The application also supports unattended mode so you can 'skip’ almost all the steps by programming them using different commands. Clonezilla is one of the most efficient ways of creating backup copies of your hard disks. Its interface is not very friendly, and may scare off the less brave, but once you get the hang of it, you'll find it to be full of interesting options.

SyncToy

Microsoft Corporation

SyncToy is an utility designed by Microsoft that allows you to synchronize two folders in an easy and fast way. Until today, the fact of having two computers and need some files in both two was a problem, but now on, thanks to SyncToy you can step that problem in a snap. Easy and intuitive interface that optimizes the time, so the user will be able to keep two folders in the same status. Copy, move, rename, eliminate files with no problems by using SyncToy. Forget the files you have modified and the ones you have to copy, SyncToy will do it for you, because nowadays w ave digital cameras, pen drives, other computer, removable drives,... and sometimes we need to have them synchronized, but now you don't have to remember which and where you have to copy. SyncToy will update the folders, copy files and rename the files that have been already renamed in the original folder. It's easy and safe, it's really good.

GoodSync

Goodsync.com

If you are used to work with different projects and you usually transport information, more than once you would have had troubles when trying to know which one is the most recent file. Good Sync is a totally free application which will help you when synchronizing your stored data, no matter where they are stored: Hard disk, USB key, laptop,... or even two different folders in a same hard disk. Good Sync uses a powerful algorithm for synchronizing and localizing repeated and transformed files showing automatically the scan results. Good Sync supports any filesystem and it doesn’t have a filesize limit. In short, a useful and reliable application with professional results for free.

Uranium Backup

Nanosystems Srl

Uranium Backup is a free application for Windows that lets you back up your files in a couple quick and easy steps. You can create several different profiles for copying (backup sets) that includes various sources and different destinations. The possible destinations for these copies, in addition to a folder on your computer, could be an FTP server, a CD/DVD or tape, or a compressed version in the form of a ZIP file. You can do the backups manually or schedule them to run once or periodicially. This all makes Uranium Backup a great option that you can rely on to safely back up your files.

MiniTool ShadowMaker

MiniTool Ltd

MiniTool ShadowMaker is a Windows program with which you can make different backups and protect the files saved on your PC. Having a tool like this is always important, as it will help you keep all your data safe and avoid possible losses from a software or hardware failure. The interface in MiniTool ShadowMaker is quite intuitive, and this is something to appreciate in programs of this kind. At the top part of the screen you'll have a toolbar where you observe the different functions represented with icons. One of the most outstanding things about this program is that you can select at any time which files you want to back up. Thus you'll save the important information without having to do a full PC backup. In addition, the backups you make will be updated to save space on your drive. Another option in MiniTool ShadowMaker is that you can sync all your files or schedule how often you want to do each backup. This means you don't have do anything yourself to make sure your files are protected. Whether they're docs, pics, videos, or audio, everything will be safe and available when you need it. Another interesting feature in MiniTool ShadowMaker is that the program lets you create a bootable USB to make restoring your operating system simpler. Thanks to this feature, in minutes you'll have your own launch system to restore a previous version.

CrashPlan

Code42

CrashPlan is a tool that automatically creates backups of your most important files and documents by encrypting and uploading them to the cloud. It keeps your documents safe and sound and always within reach. Once you set the program up, it creates a backup of selected folders and files at least once a day. This way, if something ever happens to your computer, you can access those files and recover them without a problem. The number of files you can back up is basically infinite, since you can use this free version indefinitely as long as it's for personal use only. Unlike similar services, CrashPlan lets you create backups directly on other computers or devices, like an external hard drive, so you can have the same backup at home and at work. There's also an app for iPhone and Android devices that lets you manage your account from your mobile device, no matter where you are. You can even access some of the saved content from it. CrashPlan is extremely useful if you have important files you couldn't bear to lose. A virus or a simple accident could destroy important documents; it's important to back things up in the cloud.

Backup4all

Softland

For sure that any time you have missed some files because of not having done a backup on time. Now you don’t have to worry because BackUp4All has arrived to your PC. Backup4all is an excellent tool which allows you to create backups. It is excellent because it is easy to use and because it includes lots and lots of configuration options. It also includes a wizard which leads you step by step throughout the whole creation of the backup, besides filters, password protection, file compression and utilities to program and automatize the backup copies. Once the copy has finished, Backup4all saves logs of all operations done and allows you to update backup copies by adding only the files that have changed as long as to recover the backups when it is necessary.

Cobian Backup

Luis Cobian

With this application you can feel confident in the security and safety of the data stored on your hard drive. Cobian Backup, despite being free, offers everything you could need to automate the process of creating backups. The program supports compressing the copy to a zip file, encrypting it with a password, and when the backup of your files only the data and the files that have changed will be updated, enormously optimizing the process. Without a doubt, an excellent option for making backups of your files

AOMEI Backupper

AOMEI

Aria2

Tatsuhiro Tsujikawa

Aria2 is a downloads utility that's surprisingly lightweight and fast. It's compatible with HTTP, FTP, BitTorrent, and metalinks, and also supports simultaneous downloads from different servers, as well as resuming paused downloads. The only downside is its interface, since it has to be used with the command line, which can push some users away. Still, you don't need to learn much, you just have to copy and paste the URL and the name of the app in order to start downloading. By using other commands you can, for example, download a file from different hosts, or even speed up the downloads. Since it's open-source, there are many ways to customize it, which you can check out in the creator's official wiki. Despite not being too pleasant on the eyes, it barely takes resources, and it's very trustworthy and portable; this makes the application a very good option to consider.

Vuze

Azureus Software, Inc.

From the creators of azureus, we receive Vuze, a piece of software which put in our hands a huge amount of High Definition Videos and other kind of media. Taking advantage of the power of the Azureus community, Vuze lets us use azureus as we used to do until now, but we will find more and exciting features. From now on, we will be able to enjoy a huge catalog of High Definition downloads, well organized just clicking the 'home' tab. We will be able to see in a different way the download process, at the same time we see latest releases sent by other users. Furthermore, Some companies are now launching their releases throughout this P2P net, so we will be the first who see them. Download and watch the trailers of the coming games and movies, and continue sharing files as you used to do with Azureus. A great idea, a great program. Don't hesitate, join the Vuze community.

Tixati

Tixati Software

Tixati is a well-known download manager that uses the popular BitTorrent protocol, allowing you to transfer files while also providing useful information about them. To add a download, you just need to find the corresponding .torrent file. Alternatively, you can take advantage of the application being compatible with magnet links, meaning you just have to click the link from your browser and the application will open automatically and start the download. While the downloads are running, you can see detailed information about the seeders, including their location and IP addresses, and even filter them by IP. It also has a stats graph where you can check your connection speed. In short, this lightweight BitTorrent client is a great alternative to others that are currently more popular.

Deluge

Deluge Team

It's not strange to see how successful Linux applications are being ported to Windows and that's the case of Deluge, a really fast and extremely good P2P client that is now ready for Windows users. Open source and, of course, totally free P2P client specialized in Bittorrent network, one of the most used filesharing networks nowadays. Its easy-to-use and intuitive interface leaves no doubt when using it and it features advanced features for advanced users that allows them to control any aspect of the download process. Not only does it works specially well once it is installed but you will be able to use some included add-ons, such as WebUI or that make it to be special.

BitComet

BitComet

BitComet is a multi-protocol downloads manager that lets you share and download files on the Internet, no matter whether it's an HTML link, remote FTP connections, or a P2P download platform with BitTorrent protocol, which is its main feature. As a downloads manager, it makes a queue of files. You can download them one at a time or simultaneously, play multimedia files before the download is finished, download files by sections, and set up automatic restarts so downloads continue where they left off. As a torrent manager, its features are wide-ranging. It can open Magnet Links automatically and launch trackers for your own uploads, besides many other optimizing characteristics, to download many files at the same time using different protocols and maximum efficiency.

DownThemAll

Nils Maier

Day by day there are more and more plug-ins for Mozilla, and that's because it offers us really good possibilities. Users are using Mozilla more and more and that's good for all users because now we find nearly all kind of plugins and the navigator is better day by day. This time, we present DownThemAll which comes up to power up the download side of Mozilla. Thanks to this extension, we will be able to control all details of the downloads in progress. DownThemAll supports filters by extension and shows the download speed, average download speed,...