PECompact

With the help of PECompact you can reduce the size of Windows executables, without corrupting the files. It supports EXE, DLL, SCR, OCX and other formats, and primarily caters to advanced users.

The interface is based on a standard window with a plain layout, where you can import files using either the file browser or drag-and-drop support.

You can view the type, original and new size, compression ratio, file path, and selected options for each file, along with additional information (e.g. extra data appended).

As far as settings are concerned, you can ask PECompact to compress or only trim the files, embed a numerical watermark, allow multiple compressions, compress exports, create backups, as well as to emulate overlay or extra data.

You can apply a plugin (e.g. anti-debug), use the Windows DLL loader, strip fix-ups, unused resources and the debug data directory, select API hook plugins, select the resources to compress, adjust the compression level and use fast decoders, as well as perform a code integrity checkup, among others. Options can be restored to their default values.

You can test selected executable files and restore backups if any errors occur. The tool quickly finishes a task and delivers good results. However, it failed in its attempt to restore backups on multiple occasions in our tests.

PECompact uses low CPU and RAM, so it doesn't affect overall performance. It is also able to integrate into the Explorer context menu. Unfortunately, it has not been updated for a long time, and the utility has compatibility issues with newer operating systems. Other than that, PECompact provides an efficient method for compressing executable files to free up space on the hard drive.