4 apps
WinRAR is the legendary archive utility from RARLAB, used by over 500 million people worldwide since 1995. It creates and extracts RAR and ZIP archives and reads 15+ other formats including 7Z, TAR, GZ, and ISO. Officially shareware at $29, WinRAR keeps working after the 40-day trial — only a reminder window appears. Strong AES-256 encryption, recovery records, and unmatched RAR compression. Update to the latest version: older builds have the CVE-2023-38831 vulnerability patched only in 6.23+.
IObit Driver Booster is a Windows utility that scans your PC for outdated, missing, or faulty drivers and updates them from a database of over 9 million drivers. The free version handles basic driver updates; Driver Booster Pro adds automatic updates, game-component fixes, driver backups, and priority access to game-ready drivers. Works on Windows 11, 10, 8, and 7. Useful for older laptops and gaming PCs with legacy components — though Windows Update and direct manufacturer sites remain the safe
7-Zip is the free, open-source archive utility created by Igor Pavlov, used by hundreds of millions of people since 1999. It offers the highest compression ratios on the market via its own .7z format with LZMA2, opens and creates ZIP, TAR, GZ, BZ2, WIM, and 30+ other archive types, and unpacks RAR, ISO, MSI, CAB, DMG. AES-256 encryption included. No nag screens, no license fees, free for commercial use. Available for Windows, Linux, and macOS. Update to 24.07+ to patch CVE-2024-11477.
Steam is the world's largest PC gaming platform, developed by Valve Corporation since 2003. It hosts over 100,000 games, has 132 million monthly active users, and reached 38 million concurrent online players in 2024. Steam is free to download and use — you only pay for the games you choose to buy, and around 30% of the catalog is free-to-play. Available for Windows, macOS, and Linux, with deep integration for Steam Deck and SteamOS. Includes a 14-day refund policy, Steam Workshop modding, family
