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By David Becker
CNET News.com
August 12, 2003, 4:00 AM PT
New versions of software based on a popular file-compression technology could create headaches for users through their use of incompatible formats.
For more than a decade, Zip has been the most common format for shrinking files in order to more easily store them or transmit them over the Internet. Dozen of software programs, including tools built into recent versions of Microsoft's Windows operating system, can read and decompress any file bearing the .zip extension.
Connecticut-based WinZip, creator of the most popular competing Zip utility, responded last month with a new version of its software. The WinZip update includes similar security extensions, but they're based on different encryption keys that are incompatible with PKWare's format.
Both programs use the basic .zip file extension to designate both secure and standard files. The upshot? People who receive a file with .zip now won't know until they try to open it whether it's one of three types: a secure file accessible only through PKWare's software; a secure file accessible only through WinZip; or a standard Zip file that can be accessed by any compression utility.
Source @http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104_2-5062423.html
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