Looking for a free alternative to WinZip, PKZip, WinRar or any of the other various compression / decompression utilities?

Look no further than the Free, Open-Source 7-Zip.

You can use 7-Zip on any computer, including a computer in a commercial organization. You don’t need to register or pay for 7-Zip. 7-Zip works in Windows 98/ME/NT/2000/XP/Vista

• Supported formats:
  • Packing / unpacking: 7z, ZIP, GZIP, BZIP2 and TAR
  • Unpacking only: ARJ, CAB, CHM, CPIO, DEB, DMG, HFS, ISO, LZH, LZMA, MSI, NSIS, RAR, RPM, UDF, WIM, XAR and Z.
• For ZIP and GZIP formats, 7-Zip provides a compression ratio that is 2-10 % better than the ratio provided by PKZip and WinZip

To use 7-Zip simply download it from the website and install it as you would any other application. There are no hidden settings or spyware.

Once it is installed simply right click on any folder or file you want to compress or decompress and select the appropriate option from the menu:

I don’t have 7-Zip set as my default compression / decompression application because I am quick with the click of the right mouse button. If you are someone who feels the need to make things a little more automated simply:

1. Open 7-Zip
2. Choose Tools –> Options
3. Select the System tab and then Select All
4. Followed by OK

Now 7-Zip is your default zipping / unzipping application and all compressed files will have a letter in the upper right corner denoting the type of compressed file they are. In this example one is a Zip file and the other is a Cab file:

There is also a full program interface you can use if you open 7-Zip from your programs menu. For me though, it’s right click – 7-Zip!

Is it just me or is Adobe acrobat reader bloated and slow? Uninstall it and get Foxit Reader.

Foxit Reader is a free PDF document viewer, with incredible small size (only 2.55 M download size), super-fast launch speed and rich feature set. Foxit Reader supports Windows Me/2000/XP/2003/Vista.

In the past, you’ve had to download a huge PDF reader from Adobe, go through a lengthy installation process and wait for an annoying splash window to disappear just to open a PDF document. Moreover, if you want to annotate a PDF document, you have to pay US$299 to buy the full version.

Now with Foxit Reader, you don’t have to endure such pain any more. The following is a list of compelling advantages of Foxit Reader:

• Incredibly small: The download size of Foxit Reader is only 2.55 M which is a fraction of Acrobat Reader 20 M size.
• Breezing-fast: When you run Foxit Reader, it launches instantly without any delay. You are not forced to view an annoying splash window displaying company logo, author names, etc.
• Annotation tool: Have you ever wished to annotate (or comment on) a PDF document when you are reading it? Foxit Reader allows you to draw graphics, highlight text, type text and make notes on a PDF document and then print out or save the annotated document.
• Text converter: You may convert the whole PDF document into a simple text file.
• High security and privacy: Foxit Reader highly respects the security and privacy of users and will never connect to the Internet without users’ permission. While other PDF readers often silently connect to the Internet in the background. Foxit PDF Reader does not contain any spyware.

Foxit Reader 2.3 was just released. The new version includes a multimedia player feature allowing Foxit users to not only read PDFs, but to watch and listen to the audio/video elements coming with PDFs as well.

Installation is straight-forward, no hidden settings or toolbar installers, etc.

Instead of Adobe acrobat Reader use Foxit Reader.