In the interest of furthering their respective business interests, it seems that both PKWare and WinZip are determined to destroy the “zip” standard for file compression, by releasing incompatible versions of their software.
But that accessibility has changed since the release, earlier this year, of a new version of the PKZip application for creating and reading Zip files from PKWare, the small, Wisconsin-based software maker that created and published the Zip standard. The new version and a subsequent update include advanced security features that–for now–are exclusive to PKWare.
Connecticut-based WinZip, creator of the most popular competing Zip utility, responded last month with a new version of its software. The WinZip update includes similar security extensions, but they’re based on different encryption keys that are incompatible with PKWare’s format.
Both programs use the basic .zip file extension to designate both secure and standard files. The upshot? People who receive a file with .zip now won’t know until they try to open it whether it’s one of three types: a secure file accessible only through PKWare’s software; a secure file accessible only through WinZip; or a standard Zip file that can be accessed by any compression utility.
Actually, the most astonishing thing about this story? That it isn’t Micro$oft that’s doing it. Though given the precedent, I’m sure they will …