7Zip
There are an incredible number of compression utilties available. 7Zip stands out amongst them for 2 main reasons - 1. It’s free and 2. It has an incredibly efficient compression algorithm - 7z. It can also compress to/from the ubiqutous Zip format, at varying compression levels, in addition to GZIP, BZIP2 and TAR. You can also create self-extracting archives using its 7z algorithm.
7Zip also meets a criteria I always look for in any software - ease of use. It is designed purely to handle compression/decompression and is not bloated with a ton of features you’ll never use.
Another terrific feature is the Command Line version, which allows you to build automated batch files to compress your files, perhaps prior to a backup. I use this feature a great deal.
7Zip comes as standard with support for multiple languages and is supplied with an extensive Help file covering both the standard and command line versions.
The software is completely free, but the author accepts paid-for registrations to help with development. The free version has no crippling whatsoever.
7Zip main interface
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