WinZip Pro

The long running commercial archiver with its full Pro toolset present, covering banking grade encryption, cloud targets, PDF conversion, image resizing on the fly, and scheduled backup jobs.

Version 29.0.16416 184 MB Windows 10 / 11 (64-bit) Updated 2 weeks ago

Overview

What this release is

WinZip has been around long enough that most people assume it is only an archiver, which undersells what the Pro edition actually does. Compression is the base layer, but the application has grown into a general file handling tool that zips, encrypts, converts, uploads, and backs up in a single operation defined once and reused.

The zip and share workflow is the clearest example. Select files, and in one pass the application can compress them, encrypt with a 256 bit key, convert documents to PDF, resize and watermark the images inside, and then push the result to a cloud target or attach it to a mail message. Doing the same thing manually is five separate applications and ten minutes.

Encryption is handled properly with AES at 128 or 256 bit strength, and the Pro edition adds file shredding for the originals once an encrypted copy exists. There is a bulk conversion path for encrypting an entire folder tree at once, which is the usual reason someone reaches for this over a lighter archiver.

The backup module turns any zip definition into a scheduled job. Choose a source set, a destination which can be a local drive, a network share, or a cloud target, and a schedule, and it runs unattended with incremental behaviour so only changed files are rewritten. Combined with the duplicate file finder and the disk cleaner also bundled here, it covers most routine file housekeeping without a second utility.

Feature set

What you get

Zip and share

One pass compression, encryption, conversion, and delivery to a cloud target or mail message from a single dialog.

AES encryption

128 or 256 bit encryption with bulk folder conversion, plus shredding of the originals once the encrypted copy exists.

Cloud targets

Direct upload to the common storage services, with archives written straight to the target rather than uploaded afterwards.

Backup jobs

Any zip definition can be scheduled as an unattended incremental backup to local, network, or cloud destinations.

Image handling

Resize, rotate, and watermark photographs as they are added to an archive, without touching the originals.

Housekeeping tools

Duplicate file finder and disk cleaner bundled alongside the archiving core.

Changes in this build

What changed

Compression engine tuned for faster handling of very large mixed folder sets
Cloud target list refreshed with updated authentication flows
Backup scheduler gained proper incremental change detection
Duplicate finder now compares by content hash rather than name and size alone
Fixed the extraction failure on archives containing unusually long path names

Installation

How to install it

Disable real time protection while extracting, since the licence component is modified during setup.
Extract to a short path and run the installer as administrator.
Choose the custom install if you want to skip the browser extension and the mail client integration.
Set file associations deliberately during setup, otherwise it claims every archive format on the machine.
Skip the registration prompt on first launch. The Pro tools are already present in the ribbon.

Hardware

System requirements

Processor	Intel or AMD, 64-bit, dual core or better
Memory	4 GB minimum, 8 GB recommended for large backup jobs
Graphics	Any adapter with the standard driver
Storage	600 MB for the application plus archive space
Network	Connection required only for cloud targets
System	Windows 10 version 21H2 or newer, Windows 11 supported

Package

Release information

Title	WinZip Pro
Version	29.0.16416
Developer	WinZip Computing
Category	System Utilities
Platform	Windows 10 / 11 (64-bit)
Package size	184 MB
Interface languages	Multilingual (12 interface languages)
Release identifier	BS-29016401
Listed	3 years ago
Last rebuilt	2 weeks ago
Total downloads	153,078

Questions

Before you start

Does the trial countdown appear?

No. The Pro feature set is unlocked and the nag screen on launch has been removed.

Can it open archives made by other tools?

Yes, including the common formats and most of the less common ones. Native format archives from other applications extract normally.

Are the cloud services included?

The connectors are built in, but you supply your own account for whichever service you use.

Is the backup module a full backup solution?

It handles file level scheduled backups well. It does not image an entire system drive.