In fact, 7Zip itself has already had several security issues come to light, including this very serious vulnerability (that has since been patched).īottom line: Unless there’s a compelling reason for using a third-party tool to accomplish a given task, I always recommend using Windows’ native tool if one is available AND it works well. What’s more, every installed program adds another potential security risk to your system. Why? Because every program that’s installed on your hard drive takes up space that could be used to store something else that you really do need. In my opinion it’s never a good idea to install a program you don’t really need. Rick’s answer: Carla, if I were you I would skip installing 7Zip and simply use the native Windows unzipping utility instead.ħZip is in fact a great tool, but if all you’ll ever use it for is to unzip the zipped folders your boyfriend sends you then you simply don’t need it. If you recommend that I keep using 7Zip I’ll download it and install it. Is there an advantage to using 7Zip instead of the Windows tool? All I use it for is unzipping the photos my boyfriend sends to me. I just bought a new computer with windows 10 and I noticed that there’s an option to unzip folders on the right-click menu. On my old computer I used a program called 7Zip to unzip those folders and extract the files. Question from Carla: My boyfriend is currently working overseas and he sends me lots of photos in zipped folders.

Make 7zip default windows 10