file extension .rar ??? What the hell is it?

[tantone]

Does anyone know what file type .rar is and what kind of program I need to open these files?

Thanks

[tantone]

pay no attention to the question. i asked before i thought.

[daveleau]

Just incase you don't find your previous post, it is opened with WinRAR.
Dave

[Gene C.]

I have downloaded these type of files from those sites many times. a word of caution from a person that knows. scan,scan those programs before and after you mess with them. there are hidden goodies in them. and they love to eat boot records

[akaBruno]

Excuse me but, what are you guys talking about???

[Mntsnow]

Bruno,

WinRAR is just like WinZIP It is a file compression utility. Tantone's question was (since he forgot) what type of file has the .rar extention. The type of file extenstion is what tells the OS what application to use to interreact with it. http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif

Just as .txt is a text file, .doc is a word document file ect ect.

Mntsnow

[hd581]

Gene I'm a little lost. Rar in itself is harmless. What type of file are you referring to? Warez?

[Gene C.]

you got it. I didn't say the name of them. for it is a good thing for the newbies not to learn from us ect.

I have even went as far to scan them with norton/mcAfee. only to have the install file to open up a virus and over ride the virus scanner. and give me a horse to ride as I watch all my data go down the drain.

I last eight years of company data last thanksgiving from one. and have had about. I can't remember how many others from them.

but, I do a lot of downloading from outside the u.s. too. and it is not only those kinda files that carry the bad guys either. that is why I now load them on a test system ect. than a format is nothing but a format ect.

[SoopaStar]

I use rar all the time. I like it better than winzip. You can get it from www.rarsoft.com (http://www.rarsoft.com)

Paul C

[tantone]

Well, I found the .rar extension when I downloaded something I probably shouldn't have. I'm okay with it though. The program is worth it. I wasn't thinking when I asked the question. As soon as I posted it, I remembered what it was.