STOP USING ZIP FILES

The main point of ZIP files is to make text documents smaller. It was never meant to compress audio and video, so it doesn’t do a very good job We suggest you ditch the ZIP format and try some alternative compression formats.

The 7Z (7-Zip) format, for example, is more adept at handling a wider range of file formats. While our favourite compression software, Peazip ( www. peazip.org) is capable of creating 7Z files and ZIPS.

To create a 7Z compressed file, install and open Peazip, navigate to the files you want to compress, select them, then click Add. Select 7Z in the first dropdown menu (see screenshot), then click OK. To extract a 7Z file, double-click it and Peazip should open by default. If not, and you’re prompted to choose a default program, click ‘Select a program from a list of installed programs’, then double-click Peazip.