WinZip moves to the cloud, launches online service ZipShare

Himanshu Arora

Posts: 902   +7

The popular compression utility WinZip is moving to the cloud. The company has launched ZipShare, an online file compression, management, encryption, and sharing service, which works with major cloud storage platforms including Google Drive, Box, SugarSync, Dropbox, OneDrive, HighTail, and CloudMe.

The new service, which is currently in its beta phase, lets you upload one or more files from your computer or any of the supported cloud storage services, zipping it during the process. You can then share the compressed file via email or to social networks like Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. You can also optionally choose to add password protection before sharing it.

The recipients are offered a URL through which they can download the zipped file. You can use ZipShare to track the delivery of a download, as it provides the time the file was accessed.  Not only this, you can also use it to manage files across your preferred cloud services, which means that you can perform operations like delete, move, and more, right from within ZipShare.

ZipShare is not aiming to compete with existing cloud storage services, rather it's like a plugin which can help you save storage space on your preferred provider. While it already supports most of the popular cloud storage services, support for many others is in the works.

There's a free subscription plan with unlimited use (up to 50MB per zipped file) during beta. You can also opt for a paid subscription at $39.95/year or $9.95/month.

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Cool, never thought of WinZip to reside in the cloud, quite a pioneer again.

Cool??

Why would you want to send uncompressed files over the internet to compress them and AFTER sending the full size of the file sharing it as compressed???

Looks and sounds awful.
 
PowerArchiver is better than WinZip since it offer the same feature for free.
 
Cool, never thought of WinZip to reside in the cloud, quite a pioneer again.
Thanks. Much appreciated.

Cool??

Why would you want to send uncompressed files over the internet to compress them and AFTER sending the full size of the file sharing it as compressed???

Looks and sounds awful.

Hi Kibaruk,
Actually, I at least partially agree with your point. Using a product like Winzip or any archival tool for that matter will achieve your objective. But the point of ZipShare as a web app is less about saving bandwidth during upload than having the convenience of zipping and sharing from any browser enabled device without having to download software. There are other benefits to the application such as file management across cloud storage services from a single app, email delivery tracking or extra protection against hacking with AES encryption of files in the cloud. We do encourage you to try the product. It is in beta and there is an opportunity to provide feedback in the app, something we would appreciate receiving.

Cheers!

Jacques

How is it better if the only thing you said that is better then it isnt true?
I would add that ZipShare IS free.
 
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Hi Kibaruk,
Actually, I at least partially agree with your point. Using a product like Winzip or any archival tool for that matter will achieve your objective. But the point of ZipShare as a web app is less about saving bandwidth during upload than having the convenience of zipping and sharing from any browser enabled device without having to download software. There are other benefits to the application such as file management across cloud storage services from a single app, email delivery tracking or extra protection against hacking with AES encryption of files in the cloud. We do encourage you to try the product. It is in beta and there is an opportunity to provide feedback in the app, something we would appreciate receiving.

Cheers!

Jacques

Well that does sound better than in the article but... two points.

The first being the ability to cypher my online files, I actually do that for sensitive information before uploading it.

The second point is more security oriented. Do you offer two step authentication? Because if I want to integrate all of my cloud solutions for storage I don't want a hacker to only guess or bruteforce A password on A site to rule them all, while I have the ability to control that on Dropbox (Or OneDrive) for example with 2 step verification they can't log in unless they also get my phone.

How long will this be free? Or better yet what would be the limitations of the free solution?
 
Well that does sound better than in the article but... two points.

The first being the ability to cypher my online files, I actually do that for sensitive information before uploading it.

The second point is more security oriented. Do you offer two step authentication? Because if I want to integrate all of my cloud solutions for storage I don't want a hacker to only guess or bruteforce A password on A site to rule them all, while I have the ability to control that on Dropbox (Or OneDrive) for example with 2 step verification they can't log in unless they also get my phone.

How long will this be free? Or better yet what would be the limitations of the free solution?
 
Well that does sound better than in the article but... two points.

The first being the ability to cypher my online files, I actually do that for sensitive information before uploading it.

The second point is more security oriented. Do you offer two step authentication? Because if I want to integrate all of my cloud solutions for storage I don't want a hacker to only guess or bruteforce A password on A site to rule them all, while I have the ability to control that on Dropbox (Or OneDrive) for example with 2 step verification they can't log in unless they also get my phone.

How long will this be free? Or better yet what would be the limitations of the free solution?

Hello Kiburak,

Again, good points.
I agree that cyphering files before uploading remains the most secure mechanism to protect files to be stored in the cloud. Actually WinZip does a first rate job at that with it's built-in support for cloud services. Such a solution however does require use of software installed on the desktop or mobile device. ZipShare is designed to provide the cypher capabilities to those users who don't want, have, or need local software but do want that added layer of security. Suppose you're working on another computer than your own and need to share a sensitive set of large files. ZipShare could be a very useful tool to help you safely deliver your files without having to download anything.

Regarding 2 factor authentication, this is a much more advanced features that has only recently been introduced by a small number of cloud storage providers. It took them years to get there... please be patient with us as well while we develop future functionalities for our new service :). Meanwhile we have set up the most advanced security protocols we could reasonably introduce at launch, including SSL pipes, daily triple scrubbing of deleted files, strong server level encryption and more. We are considering requiring stronger minimum password strength requirements but want to get user feedback first before taking that step.

Regarding the free comment: Standard ZipShare will remain a free service for the foreseeable future and we have no plans to change that commitment.

Cheers,

Jacques
 
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