Ank Zipper

Whenever you need to keep your files safe, a solution would be a file encryption application. Other times you may need to keep important files bundled up in a optimized way, and that is where an archiver could come in handy.

But some programs can do both, one such being Ank Zipper, a light-weight Java-based application designed to provide you with an archiver and encrypter in one application.

The program does not require installation and can be run from the get-go, which is a plus as it spares you the hassle of going through setups that may mess with your registry entries.

The GUI (Graphical User Interface) is a bit of a turn-off since the window and all of the buttons share approximately the same shade of silver-gray, while some toolbars seem needlessly thick and give off the impression of emptiness.

The program has multiple drawbacks, such as the fact that it does not support drag-and-drop option or batch processing, and file searching can only be done via browsing.

Another inconvenience is that the program does not remember the last locations browsed by the user, not even within the same run session, making file searching rather of an annoyance.

Also worth mentioning is that the application does not let you select multiple files to add to the archive at the same time, making this time-consuming. Upon finally selecting the desired files or folders, you are prompted with the option of setting a password to protect the archive, whose length can surpass  50 characters.

The software tool gets the job done and, although the unappealing interface may not be an issue for some users, the clunkiness of the controls surely are, making Ank Zipper an unreliable file compression and encryption tool.