Zip up your data

If you've been around the Net as long as I have, you have surely run into your fair share of archived and compressed files. I've been around since PKZip days back during the reign of Windows 3.1. Back then you had to buy a program just to zip and unzip files for easy transport. (When your only means of transfer files was dialup at 28.8 baud or a 1.44 MB floppy - compression was very valuable.) Nowadays, most operating systems (OS X, Linux, XP, and Vista) have archival/compression and decompression software built in. And there are several free programs, including the open source 7-Zip, that are available online. But with download speeds higher than 4 Mbps, DVD dual-layer burners, and portable pocket USB drives able to store dozens if not hundreds of Gigs of data, why would an archival program be needed?

Several reasons. Number one, not everyone is on broadband, and not everyone can burn DVDs. Number two, bandwidth cost money. Websites get charged for every GB of information that is downloaded from their site, so archiving is still important economically. Number three, email servers usually have limits on attachments, (see points 1 and 2), so by zipping up a file, you can get that 12 MB high-res photo of your dog playing the harmonica to your friends. And number four, and perhaps this is the most important reason, is security. Archived files can be encrypted and only opened by authorized users by using a password.

Enter SecureZIP - The next generation of ZIP.

If you are concerned about data security, then you owe it to yourself to find out about this program. For a limited time, they are offering a free full-liscensed (not trialware) version of their program for download, (valid email address required. SecureZip works with Microsoft Outlook, so sending secure, compress files is easy, (for Windows users). Check out their website - www.securezip.com - for more information.