ZipGenius is the file compression suite you were searching for: it is free and easy to use, plus it supports more than 20 formats of compressed archives, including RAR, ARJ, ACE, CAB, SQX and the excellent 7-zip. ZipGenius has all the main features of compression programs (zip, unzip and so on), but it's different from the others because it offers very special features. You can give better protection to your archives using encryption instead of the standard zip password, you can send e-mail using the built-in mail client or you can publish archives on the Web with FTPGenius, the built-in FTP client.
ZipGenius is presented in two editions: STANDARD and SUITE that differs for the content they ship to user's Desktop. While the suite edition is the full setup package that includes all the optional modules of the ZipGenius project, because it is a setup layout oriented to experts and power users, the standard setup package just includes the main ZipGenius application because it is designed for most Windows® users, that just want to open/compress/decompress archives in several formats.

7-Zip is an open source file archiver with the high compression ratio predominantly for the Microsoft Windows operating system. It operates either as a command line program or with a graphical user interface. It also features integration with the Windows shell environment. 7-Zip is free software, developed by Igor Pavlov and distributed under the GNU LGPL license. The main features of 7-Zip:
• High compression ratio in new 7z format with LZMA compression
• Supported formats:
- Packing / unpacking: 7z, ZIP, GZIP, BZIP2 and TAR
- Unpacking only: RAR, CAB, ISO, ARJ, LZH, CHM, MSI, WIM, Z, CPIO, RPM, DEB and NSIS

WinRAR is a powerful archive manager (Win32, Linux, Mac). RAR files can usually compress content by 8 percent to 15 percent more than ZIP files can. WinRAR is a powerful compression tool with many integrated additional functions to help you organize your compressed archives. It can backup your data and reduce size of email attachments, decompress RAR, ZIP and other files downloaded from Internet and create new archives in RAR and ZIP file format.
WinRAR puts you ahead of the crowd when it comes to compression. By consistently creating smaller archives, WinRAR is often faster than the competition. This will save you disc space, transmission costs AND valuable working time as well. WinRAR is ideal for multimedia files. WinRAR automatically recognizes and selects the best compression method. The special compression algorithm compresses multimedia files, executables and object libraries particularly well.

WinZip® is the original and most trusted file compression software for Windows. No other compression utility is as easy-to-use or offers the comprehensive feature set and productivity-enhancing approach that has made WinZip the gold standard in file compression tools. The new WinZip  14  provides deep integration with Windows, including Microsoft’s latest operating system - Windows 7 - as well as innovative features that improve zipping security and simplicity.
With WinZip 14 you can quickly zip and unzip files to conserve storage space, speed up e-mail transmission, and reduce download times. In addition to state-of-the-art file compression, WinZip 14 offers strong AES encryption for securing sensitive data, the ability to bundle files into convenient, compressed packages, and an automated data backup facility to prevent data loss. WinZip creates Zip, LHA, and Zipx files - the smallest Zip files ever - and it opens Zip, Zipx, RAR, 7Z, BZ2, CAB, JAR, IMG, and most other compressed file types.

PeaZip allows to apply powerful multiple search filters to archive's content; create and extract multiple archives at once; create self-extracting archives; export job definition as command line; save archive's layouts; bookmark archives and folders; scan and open with custom applications compressed and uncompressed files etc... Other features: strong encryption, robust file copy, split/join files (file span), secure data deletion, compare, checksum and hash files, system benchmark, generate random passwords and keyfiles.
PeaZip is an open source file and archive manager: cross platform, available as portable and installable software for 32 and 64 bit Windows (9x, 2k, XP, Vista) and Linux (PeaZip is a desktop neutral application). PeaZip is freeware, free of charge for any use, and is also free as in freedom since it's Open Source (LGPLv3).

PowerArchiver offers hundreds of features, yet remains easy to use, small and fast. Novice users will find a familiar interface complete with tutorial and detailed help, while more experienced users can take advantage of full Explorer integration, multiple encryption methods and advanced compression algorithms.
PowerArchiver is an award-winning archive utility for the Windows® family that provides support for most compressed and encoded files, as well as access to many powerful features and tools through an easy to use interface that seamlessly integrates with Windows Explorer. PowerArchiver enables you to create ISO images, either by ripping the CD/DVD/BD with Disc Grabber, or directly with files from your hard disk. With PowerArchiver's Virtual Drive feature, you can also mount .ISO images into Windows so they appear like a normal drive and you can browse inside.

IZArc is the best freeware archive utility supporting many archive formats like: 7-ZIP, A, ACE, ARC, ARJ, B64, BH,  BIN, BZ2, BZA, C2D, CAB, CDI, CPIO, DEB, ENC, GCA, GZ, GZA, HA, IMG, ISO, JAR, LHA, LIB, LZH, MDF, MBF,  MIM, NRG, PAK, PDI, PK3, RAR, RPM, TAR, TAZ, TBZ, TGZ, TZ, UUE, WAR, XXE, YZ1, Z, ZIP, ZOO. With a modern easy-to-use interface, IZArc provides support for most compressed and encoded files, as well as access  to many powerful features and tools. It allows you to drag and drop files from and to Windows Explorer, create and extract  archives directly in Windows Explorer, create multiple archives spanning disks, creating self-extracting archives, repair  damaged zip archives, converting from one archive type to another, view and write comments and many more. IZArc has also build-in multilanguage support. IZArc is integrated in Windows so you can perform all archiving operations by using right-click menus in Windows Explorer.

UltimateZip  is an easy to use archive utilty. With it's flexible user interface, UltimateZip is easy to use for first-time users and offers many features for power users.
UltimateZip offers hundreds of features, but is still easy to use. With it's very flexible user interface, UltimateZip is easy to use for first-time users and offers many features for power users.
• Support for Multiple Archive Formats: ZIP, RAR, ACE, 7-ZIP, CAB, JAR and more
• Support for Windows 7, Vista and Windows 98/Me, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows 2003
• Very Strong 7-Zip Compression: 7-Zip outperforms all other archive formates
• Advanced Security: ZIP-AES encryption and UZE-AES encryption

PowerZip is an award-winning, easy-to-use file compression (zipping + unzipping) program for Windows. PowerZip lets you zip and unzip files directly from My Computer or Windows Explorer. It also enables you to password-protect confidential files with AES encryption; unzip 12 types of archives; create ZIP, CAB, TAR, GZ, BZ2, and ARJ archives; and create self-extracting archives. PowerZip supports two new compression methods (Deflate64 and BWT) to provide a higher level of compression than is normally available in ZIP files. Standard zip compression also is supported for compatibility with other zip programs.
If you routinely perform compression tasks (such as daily backups), you can automate them by recording PowerZip macro files, which allows you to repeat the recorded compression (or extraction) task with a simple double-click; you also can run Macro Files as part of an automated script.

BitZipper is an advanced data compression tool for Windows that enables you to unzip 20 different compression and encoding formats with superior ease-of-use. BitZipper comes with built-in support for ACE, ARC, ARJ, BH, BZIP2, CAB, GZ, JAR, LHA, LZH, RAR, TAR, TBZ, TGZ, UUE, WAR, XXE, Z, ZIP and ZOO files. No third-party products are needed. This enables you to access almost every compressed file you will ever come across with this one tool. You may encrypt your data and protect it from prying eyes. BitZipper supports strong AES encryption which is an encryption standard endorsed by the NSA.
BitZipper comes with 4 interfaces, satisfying both new users and power users. It has a very friendly Wizard interface for new users, a Windows Explorer-style interface for experts, a batch (bulk) processing interface for power downloaders and an interface accessible directly from Windows Explorer.

WinZip® is the most trusted way to work with compressed files. No other compression utility is as easy-to-use or offers the comprehensive and productivity-enhancing approach that has made WinZip the gold standard for file-compression tools. With the new WinZip 12, you can quickly and securely zip and unzip files to conserve storage space, speed up e-mail transmission, and reduce download times. State-of-the-art file compression, strong AES encryption, compatibility with more compression formats, and new intuitive photo compression, make WinZip 12 the complete compression and archiving solution.
Building on the favorite features of a worldwide base of several million users, WinZip 12 adds new features for image compression and management, support for new compression methods, improved compression performance, support for additional archive formats, and more. Users can work faster, smarter, and safer.

WinZip brings the convenience of Windows to the use of ZIP files and other archive and compression formats. The optional wizard interface makes unzipping easier than ever. WinZip features built-in support CAB files and for popular Internet file formats such as TAR, gzip, UUencode, BinHex, and MIME. ARJ, LZH, and ARC files are supported via external programs. WinZip interfaces with most virus scanners.
WinZip is available as Standard or Pro. WinZip offers powerful new compression technology that creates even smaller Zip files. And the new Explorer-style view makes working with complex, multi-folder Zip files a snap. WinZip Pro includes the WinZip Job Wizard, a powerful tool that offers predefined data backup jobs, the ability to customize and schedule zipping tasks, and FTP-upload functionality. And with WinZip Pro, you can zip and burn directly on CDs/DVDs!