Released in late 2024 with version 24.09, 7-Zip 24.09 is the latest free and open-source file archiver from Igor Pavlov, renowned for its superior compression ratio in 7Z format, strong AES-256 encryption, and support for over 30 archive formats with high-speed multi-threaded operations on Windows systems.
Key Highlights
- Superior 7Z Compression – Industry-leading LZMA/LZMA2 compression with higher ratios than ZIP/RAR, multi-threaded support, and customizable dictionary sizes.
- Strong AES-256 Encryption – Secure password protection for 7Z and ZIP archives with optional header encryption to hide file names.
- Wide Format Support – Create and extract 7Z, ZIP, RAR, TAR, GZIP, BZIP2, XZ, WIM, ISO, and many more with full Unicode filename handling.
- Self-Extracting Archives – Create SFX (self-extracting) executables for 7Z archives that work without any software installed on the target PC.
- File Manager Integration – Seamless Windows Explorer context menu with drag-and-drop, checksum calculation, and benchmark tools.
- Command-Line Version – Powerful 7z.exe console tool for scripting, automation, and advanced archive operations.
- Performance & Stability – Optimized 64-bit engine, improved extraction speed for large archives, regular updates, and full compatibility with Windows 11.
System Requirements
- Windows 11 64-bit (or Windows 10 / 8 / 7)
- 4 GB RAM minimum (8 GB+ recommended)
- Integrated GPU sufficient
- NVMe SSD strongly advised