ACE extension designates a
file archiving and
compression format developed by Marcel Lemke
for WinAce, a
shareware closed source software released as GUI program
for Microsoft Windows platform only (unace de-compressor is available
as command line tool both for Windows and Linux platforms) developed as
early alternative to
PKZip / WinZip ZIP format.
ACE standard features a compression ratio higher than ZIP file
format (similar but usually
inferior compared to RAR format)
and supports quite robust 160bit Blowfish encryption, implementation
based on Bruce
Schneier's Blowfish
symmetric-key block
cipher, developed by Schneier before AES process candidate finalist
Twofish cipher.
Read more
about .ace file type: WinAce
software , Blowfish
cypher, and ACE file
extension Wikipedia
pages.
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PeaZip
features read-only support for
ACE format (open, browse, extract ACE files, and convert existing
.ace archives into any write supported archive format), and due the
closed-source nature of the software it is required the separate UNACE Plugin.
On
Windows platform UNACE plugin is based on unacev2.dll, the last
component made officially available from WinAce team, that is currently
abandoned and unpatched since many years ago, and known to be not
longer safe to use due critical unpatched
vulnerabilities.
Out of the box, PeaZip does not come with unacev2.dll (which
requires separate manual download and installation from user) so it is
immune to said vulnerabilities. No version of PeaZip will attempt to
automatically download or install UNACE plugin, nor will use UNACE
plugin (even if installed) to open ace files disguised for other
formats - e.g. changing file extension.
Help > About screen reports if UNACE
plugin is installed and features a button for quick removal of the
plugin.
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SPEED 
Ace format features average speed. Compression and decompression are
more computing intensive
than in ZIP format.
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COMPRESSION
RATIO
Ace archives features an average compression ratio. Provides better
compression than Deflate-based ZIP, but
inferior to modern formats as 7Z and RAR. |
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ADVANCED
OPTIONS
Ace format features a reasonable choice of advanced options. Developed
as capable all-around replacement for ZIP format,
but not updated in recent years.
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Synopsis: What is ACE
file format, native WinAce archives type extension. What are ACE files
features and specifications. in
terms of compression ratio and speed, advanced options, encryption.
PeaZip > FAQ >
ACE file extension, WinAce archive format
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