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PeaZip
is a free cross-platform archiver & file encryption utility that
provides an unified
portable GUI for many Open Source technologies like 7-Zip, FreeArc,
PAQ, UPX... free alternative to WinRar, WinZip and
similar
proprietary software.
- Create 7Z, ARC, BZ2, GZ, *PAQ, PEA, QUAD/BALZ, TAR, UPX, WIM, XZ, ZIP
files
- Open and extract ACE, ARJ, CAB, DMG, ISO, LHA,
RAR, UDF, ZIPX files and more, over 200 archive types
supported
Features of PeaZip includes: archives
opener and extractor, batch creation and extraction
of multiple
archives at once, convert files, create
self-extracting archives, split / join files,
strong encryption with two factor authentication, encrypted password
manager, secure deletion, verify
file integrity with checksum and hash functions,
export job definition as script, schedule backup tasks.
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Protect files from
deletion, data loss, unauthorized access
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Backup files on
regular basis to prevent data loss
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In
order to roll back unwanted changes
or deletion best protection is to keep
a fresh security copy of the data being used, even this feature is
provided in
some forms by most content creation and editing programs making a full
copy of the work data is always a good idea - on demand (i.e.
before committing significant changes to the system, or to user's
files) or, better, scheduled on a regular basis. |
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PeaZip can
spare disk usage (and substantially improve download/upload speed of
backup copies)
creating backup with use
of strong compression algorithms - as a
role of thumb ZIP / GZip compression can save 50% of disk space applied
on mixed-type input data, Bzip2 and 7Z compression provides better
result at cost of more computing power/time.
Deduplication of non-unique files before kackup jobs prevents excessive
disk space usage for storing redundant data.
A very common way to
programmatically have the data secured by a backup
copy is to schedule this process
when the machine is not planned to be
used intensively (i.e. during night hours).
While specific backup programs can feature built-in advanced functions
for backup & restore operations (i.e. differential backup which is
the process of
saving only a copy of the data actually changed since the last backup
task, or low level disk copy routines to physically clone the hard
disk, more common in software specifically meant for cloning disk
images), one of the advantages of PeaZip is being able to
save file compression operations (as well as file conversion or
extraction operations) from GUI to a script file, in order to re-use
the job definition with any system scheduler, or in third party
programs
and scripts: Add > Console > Save job definition creates a plain
text file
containing the task definition, saved by default in a "Scripts"
subfolder in PeaZip's configuration path, which is unique for each user.
PeaZip
features strong encryption
protocols to protect information secrecy.
Most commonly supported standards are
WinZip AES256 AE encryption for ZIP / ZIPX files, RAR5 AES256, and
7-Zip AES256 encryption
for 7Z files, which also provides (optional) encryption
of table of content of the archive, allowing to keep private also the
names of the files and folders inside the archive until the correct
password or passphrase is provided - avoiding unwanted leak of
information if non
legitimate, unauthorized user, not knowing the password, try to open
and
list the
archive table of content (in case the bery name of files and folders
may leak private, sensible information).
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For
all the supported compression formats, PeaZip provides also
optional two factor authentication,
in which a file is used as key to
improve the security of password based encryption, preventing risks of
password-guessing by brute forcing, dictionary attacks, or social
engineering. Unless the attacker can get the secret key file element,
decryption of the data will not be possible. |
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The software also
provides an utility to create random
keyfiles and
random passwords, sampling entropy from user's system, and an
encrypted
password manager to help safely handling multiple
passwords, to be used in PeaZip or in other applications, websites and
services - also, use of random passwords avoid risks of
password-guessing by unauthorized users with dictionary attacks or
social engineering.
As good practice,
to avoid data theft, never let leak on de-commissioned supports any
leftover data after end of intended lifecycle of
that information.
PeaZip provides integrate utility to wipe files and folders which are
intended to be premanently destoryed, while system's standard file
deletion procedures simply de-references data in the filesystem letting
the actual information intact on the support, where appropriate data
recovery software can be used by an attacker to recover data intended
to be erased.
Same function also allows to sanitize entire partitions in order to
clean free (logical) disk space from remanants of data previously
removed by unsecure deletion procedures - standard disk formatting
procedures, similarily to standard deletion functions, by default does
not take care to securely delete actual data on physical support,
favouring speed over security.
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When a memory
unit (HDD, SSD, usb-key...) get de-commissioned, it is
always a good practice to permanently erase it before, either files and
free space, so un-authorized users cannot take advantage of abandoned
media supports. |
Verify data
integrity to detect modification
To verify
integrity of files, PeaZip supports
multiple error
detection algorithms ranging from fast
checksums to cryptographically strong
hashes: Adler32, CRC family
(CRC16/24/32/64),
eDonkey/eMule, MD4, MD5,
Ripemd160, SHA
families (SHA-1;
SHA-2 SHA224/256/384/512), and Whirlpool512, in
order to detect file
corruption or forgery that may occour if the data comes from
unreliable sources, such as disks undergoing failures or unreliable
network connections.
File check may be automatic, as most archiving format supported by
PeaZip stores advanced error detection information in the archive, or
manual.
In example, if the hash of a downloaded file is published by the author
of the file it is possible to re-calculate it with PeaZip to assure it
matches with original one, meaning the originally intended file was
actually downloaded without errors and without being replaced or
corrupted by an attacker in any stage of the communication.
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While
filesystems and communication protocols implement error detection
and error correction algorithms, usually speed is the primary design
goal, menaning more computing intensive controls are generally not an
option.
Detecting files corruption or forgery (purposely crafted modifications
of data to exploit weakness of some simple error detection mechanisms)
as soon as possible avoids to
work on, or backup, inconsistent data, and prevent wasting disk space
for storing unwanted, unreadable files. |
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Share, synchronize,
attach, and upload files
PeaZip helps safely sharing
files with other people and synchronize data with
other computers/devices/services, consolidating
multiple
composite input files in a single output archive file so data is more
handy to manage
for any purpose and with
any method (as email, ftp or other protocols such as torrents or p2p). Moreover, supporting high
compression algorithms, output file is
usually significantly smaller than the sum of sizes of input files,
saving bandwidth and time both for uploading and downloading the data
package.
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The
integrated archive conversion function ensure the ability to change
the type of an existing archive, extracting and effectively
re-compressing its content in the desired file format, in order to, in
example, transform old archives (as backup files) into a more up to
date format either for improved compression or better security, or to
be able to share data with users being able to read only a subset of
the archive formats supported by this software. |
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If a maximum allowed size is
mandatory, in example when attaching a file to a
mail, file
spanning feature
can (in a single pass) create multiple split
email attachments
(file spanned in multiple .001, .002, etc parts), each one smaller than
the
desired limit size.
PeaZip file manager / file explorer
automatically detects local paths containing Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive (formerly known
as SkyDrive) shared files.
Cloud based synchronization platforms allows users to store data on a
remote location that is mutually accessible by different devices owned
by the user, like multiple PCs, smartphones, tablets/phablets, gadgets
etc,
basically any device capable to connect to Internet and run the file
synchronization software, which for this reason is usually
multi-platform and can run on Microsoft Windows, Linux / Google
Android or ChromeOS, and Apple
MacOSX / iOS.
PeaZip file explorer shows available shared directories in the
navigation area (on
the left) of file browser, so shared files are quickly accessible - and
also in compression/conversion and extraction screens, to allow quick
selecting sync folders as target for archiving and extraction
tasks.
This is especially useful when sharing archive files with mobile or
ultramobile devices and gadgets not
able to run a full featured file archiver (i.e. because some archive
formats or encryption protocols are not supported, or because not
enough powerful for convenient use of strongest compression algorithms,
especially on very large archives, or because no viable freeware
choices are available, or because locked for some policies), but fully
capable to handle the content of the
archive once it is extracted.
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Last but not
least, archive file content can be scanned for virus /
malware before starting actual extraction of the content, read more
about in-archive malware
scanning with PeaZip. |
Read more about backup , cryptography, checksum
and hash algorithm CRC, MD5, SHA, file
spanning
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FAQ
> Security > How to protect files with backup and encryption
Topics and search suggestions about how to protect files using
encryption, setting backup policies,using integrity check algorithms,
how to prevent files
from being accidentally copied, deleted or modified, avoid data theft,
accidental data loss,
unauthorized access to private files, virus and malware:
protect
files,
avoid accidental file deletion,
recover after accidental deletion,
data recovery utilities,
secure deletion,
how to use encryption software,
file security suggestions,
protect important files,
avoid unauthorized modifications,
security of files in the cloud,
scan files for virus infections,
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after data corruption,
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detect unauthorized modifications,
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scan downloaded files,
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avoid
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protect
data from virus,
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recover infected files,
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