CNET Editors' review
KGB Archiver's developers tout their tool for its high compression rate, but its performance in our tests left us dissatisfied.
This app opens with a compact, slightly cluttered interface with the basic components: a field for listing files to compress or expand, a field for specifying the location of the output file, the level of compression, options for passwords, and so forth. We initially liked that it offered nine levels of compression, from Minimal to Maximum, but our tests with the midrange Normal and Good settings weren't satisfying.
For instance, we compressed a 23.5Mb file using the Normal setting: KGB Archiver worked 3 minutes and 15 seconds to output a file the same size as the original file. Using the Very Good setting, KGB worked 21.5 minutes to turn the 23.5Mb file into another 23.5Mb file. Not what we were hoping for at all.
When we want a compressed file, we want the output to end up smaller than the original file. That's not at all what we got with this free app with many of its compression options. Using compression rates above Good led to desired results, but that leaves several options next to useless. There are better tools on the market, including other freeware options, and we suggest you try other programs before making your decision.
Publisher's Description
From Tomasz Pawlak:
KGB Archiver is free ZIP tool with a very high compression rate. If you are looking for the highest compression free zip software, this is for you. Because of its incredibly high rate of compression, it does have higher hardware requirements (1,5GHz clock and 256MB of RAM) but this should not trouble 99% of you out there. It is also a free encryption software app as it also offers AES-256 encryption which can be used to encrypt the archives. This is one of the strongest encryptions available, and one of the safest. This version is the first release on CNET Download.com.
What's new in this version: This version is the first release on CNET Download.com.
More Popular File Compression downloads
- WinRAR (32-bit)
374,958 downloads
- WinRAR (64-bit)
82,945 downloads
- WinZip
63,668 downloads
- Zip Unzip by Click
38,797 downloads
- 7-Zip
27,725 downloads
-
All versions:
3.5 starsout of 4 votes
-
Current version:
3.5 starsout of 4 votes
-
My rating:
Write review
Results 1-4 of 4
-
"Great tool for archiving"
Version: KGB Archiver 1.2.1.24
Pros
Offers greater compression than many other archiving programs. It's easy to use, even for those of us who are new to these things.
Cons
Depending on the degree of compression you choose it can take a very long time to finish even medium size files.
Summary
I would recommend KGB to anyone who has a lot of files they need store. If the file type can be compressed this tool will get the job done well. Just make sure you have time to let it work.
-
"NICE COMPRESSION but it's VERY SLOW"
Version: KGB Archiver 1.2.1.24
Pros
This application offers an very good file compressor. It compressed 3.8GB down to about 650MB.
Cons
The app is EXTREMELY slow. It's so slow, it's almost unusable. It took about 6 hours to decompress the 650MB file (this is the file that was originally 3.8GB).
Summary
Overall, it's a handy little tool. However, compression and decompression will take quite an extensive amount of time. I give it a 3/5.
-
"I GOT HOLD OF THIS NICE & COMPACT SOFTWARE FROM THE NET"
Version: KGB Archiver 1.2.1.24
Pros
IT HAS A MARVELOUS COMPRESSION CAPACITY WHICH CAN SIGNIFICANTLY BRING DOWN THE SIZE OF FILE FROM MEGABYTES TO BYTES. BEST OF IT IS THAT IT IS FREE.
Cons
THIS PRODUCT IS SLOW TO DECOMPRESS OR COMPRESS FILES.
Summary
NICE OVER ALL COMPRESSOR & DECOMPRESSOR.
-
"Its a very GOOD compression"
Version: KGB Archiver 1.2.1.24
