WinRAR is arguably one of the most widely used software globally. It’s an exceptionally unique and essential tool—simple yet vital. It’s present on the majority of Windows Tiny computers worldwide, and what’s distinctive about WinRAR is that it’s proprietary software. However, you can use it as a trial almost indefinitely, and the creators of WinRAR (or the company behind it) are quite user-friendly in this aspect. They only display a small notification, indicating that the trial version is being used.

WinRAR is indeed NOT FREE software. You can use its trial version for 40 days, after which you need to either purchase a license key or remove it from your computer.
Yes, they merely show a notification, and that’s it. You can continue using it beyond the 40-day period, and you’ll still just receive the notification. But perhaps it’s the wording in this notification that’s crucial. It’s not free, which means it’s licensed, and you’re supposed to get a key after 40 days or uninstall it. This can be somewhat bothersome for businesses because essentially, if a business uses it, they need to purchase a license for the software.
But in general, it’s not a big deal. For average users like you and me, that notification doesn’t really have much impact, and it’s possible that Win-RAR also supports this practice. It’s a win-win strategy for both developers and users. Users can still use it, and Win-RAR becomes a standard – something that’s nearly indispensable on most Windows devices today.
About Win-rar
WinRAR is a software with functions such as compression, decompression, encryption, and numerous other tasks to help you manage files efficiently. Instead of sending a large folder as is, you can package it as a RAR or ZIP file. This makes it lighter for data transmission without compromising the quality of your data.
Given that WinRAR is so widely used and present on most user computers today, I don’t need to introduce it extensively. When it comes to WinRAR, most people are already familiar. In contrast, when it comes to Rufus, not many know about it. The primary difference lies here.
One incredibly interesting aspect of WinRAR is that while you can only compress files or folders as RAR or ZIP, you can use this WinRAR software to extract various formats such as CAB, ARJ, LZH, TAR, GZ, TAR.GZ, BZ2, TAR.BZ2, ACE, UUE, JAR (Java Archive), ISO (ISO9660 – CD image), 7Z, XZ, Z (Unix compression). Of course, you need to be able to extract RAR and ZIP files as well. It’s impressive that you can compress folders or files up to 8.589 billion gigabytes in size – as long as your computer has the capability and configuration to handle that.
I must emphasize that WinRAR’s user interface is extremely user-friendly. It’s very easy to use, and you rarely need to open the software itself. For instance, to extract a file, you just need to right-click and select “Extract Here,” and you’re done.
Pros and Cons of the Latest WinRAR Version
This software performs its intended functions to the best of its capabilities and adequately meets the users’ needs. When it comes to its advantages, there are likely numerous, including:
- Supports the popular compression formats RAR and ZIP (two formats that likely cover 99% of basic user needs).
- User-friendly interface that is clean, visually appealing, and easy to navigate.
- Outstanding performance, utilizing minimal computer resources.
- Strong encryption capabilities, ensuring security, and even supporting password protection.
Install Winrar Step by Step
To install WinRAR on your computer, please follow these steps:
Step 1: Download WinRAR to your computer. You can visit the official WinRAR website to download the latest installation version to your computer.

Step 2: Right-click on the downloaded file and select “Run as administrator.”

Step 3: Accept the terms and conditions for using the WinRAR software by selecting “Install.” It’s mandatory to accept; there’s no option to decline or proceed without accepting.

Step 4: Choose the compression formats and other options if desired. However, it’s usually fine to leave the default settings as they are. You can simply click “OK.”
For example, you might have the option to add WinRAR to the desktop, but this is generally unnecessary.

Step 5: You will receive a notification from the software confirming that you have successfully completed the WinRAR installation on your computer.

Done
Use Winrar
Using WinRAR can be described as incredibly easy. It’s rare to find a software released as far back as 2002 that remains so useful, simple, and convenient. That’s why it’s considered the number one software, and it’s no surprise.
Compress file or Folder
To compress a file or folder, you can follow these steps:
For example, let’s compress the “Hiren’s Boot CD” folder that I introduced in the previous messages.
Step 1: Open the folder you want to compress. Right-click on the folder and select “Add to archive” (you can choose to compress it into .rar or .zip format). If you want to compress it into .rar format, simply choose “add to ‘hirensbootcd.rar'” below.

Step 2: Compression Options
In the “General” section, under “Archive format,” you can choose either RAR, RAR4, or ZIP. For simplicity, you can select either .ZIP or .RAR format, as they are commonly used.

In the “General” section, you can also choose “Set password…” if you want to set a password for the compressed file.

Once you’ve finished the configuration settings, click OK to start the compression process. Step 3: Wait for the compression process to complete. The speed of the process may vary depending on the size of the file or folder and also relies on your computer’s specifications
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Creating a Zip or RAR archive using WinRAR is incredibly simple!
Extracting RAR or ZIP Files and Other Supported Compression Formats using WinRAR
To extract a compressed file, simply right-click on the compressed file and choose “Extract Here”.

Absolutely, the methods you’ve described for compressing and extracting files using WinRAR are indeed the most common and widely used. They’re simple and incredibly useful.
With these compression and extraction techniques, you rarely need to open the main WinRAR program window, and you won’t receive any expiration notifications or limitations.
I hope that with this detailed article about the WinRAR software, you’ll find the perfect choice for your needs!