WinRAR And The Infinite 40-Day Trial

Summary

The video explains why WinRAR allows continued use of its software even after the 40-day trial expires. This is part of the company's business strategy, which focuses on generating revenue through businesses that need to purchase licenses for legal reasons, while home users can keep using it for free. The constant reminder to buy a license (nagware) encourages some users to eventually purchase it. This approach helps WinRAR combat software piracy and maintain its popularity, while businesses are the primary source of revenue.

Takeaways

• 🧠 WinRAR allows users to keep using the software after the 40-day trial period without forcing a purchase.
• 🌍 WinRAR, developed in 1995, is a popular file archiver utility used to compress and decompress various file formats like RAR and ZIP.
• 📅 Despite the 40-day trial, most home users never buy a license, but WinRAR is aware and allows continued use.
• 💡 This strategy helps combat software piracy, as people use the free version legally rather than seeking pirated versions.
• 🏢 WinRAR’s main revenue comes from businesses, which are required to buy licenses to remain compliant with legal software usage.
• 📈 Home users still benefit the company by keeping download numbers high, increasing recognition, and contributing to visibility through ratings and reviews.
• 💼 WinRAR’s trial period is meant for users to test the software in their environment before deciding on a purchase.
• 🔔 WinRAR uses a nagware strategy, constantly reminding users to buy a license without restricting functionality.
• 📊 Conversion rates from free trial to paid customer are typically low, with an industry average of 25% or less.
• 📱 WinRAR released a personal edition for free in China in 2015 and has an ad-supported free Android app without the nag message.

Q & A

What is the main reason you can continue using WinRAR for free even after the 40-day trial expires?

WinRAR allows continued free use after the trial period as part of its business strategy. The company prefers to combat piracy by letting users access its software freely rather than locking them out after the trial.

Who developed the RAR file format and WinRAR?

The RAR file format was developed by Russian software engineer Evgeny Roshal, while WinRAR was created two years later as a utility to handle RAR and other archive formats. His brother, Alexander Roshal, holds the copyright for the format.

Why do businesses usually pay for WinRAR licenses while many home users do not?

Businesses must adhere to legal regulations and maintain a good reputation, which is why they typically buy licenses for WinRAR. Home users, on the other hand, are less concerned with legalities and continue using the software for free.

What are the limitations of WinRAR during the 40-day trial period?

During the 40-day trial, all functions of WinRAR are available except for adding authenticity information, showing protocol files, and deleting protocol files.

How does WinRAR benefit from allowing users to continue using the software without paying?

By allowing free usage, WinRAR avoids software piracy, keeps the software in widespread use, maintains high download numbers, and increases the chances of users eventually purchasing a license out of convenience or obligation.

What role do home users play in WinRAR’s business model, even if they don’t buy licenses?

Home users help keep WinRAR popular by maintaining download numbers, contributing to ratings and reviews, and spreading recognition, even if they never purchase a license.

What is the term 'nagware' and how does it apply to WinRAR?

'Nagware' refers to software that persistently reminds the user to purchase a license. WinRAR fits this description because, after the trial period, it repeatedly shows a reminder message, though it does not restrict access to features.

How does WinRAR's approach differ in China?

In 2015, WinRAR released a completely free-to-use personal edition in China, which does not require a purchase or show nagging reminders.

How does WinRAR generate revenue through its Android app?

The WinRAR Android app is free, but it generates revenue through ads, unlike the desktop version, which relies on nagware to encourage purchases.

Why do some users believe WinRAR is freeware?

Many users think WinRAR is freeware because the software remains fully functional after the trial period, and the only consequence is a persistent reminder to purchase a license.

Outlines

00:00

🌌 The Myth of Einstein and the Mystery of WinRAR's Endless Trial

The paragraph begins by humorously referencing a meme misattributing a quote about the universe and the infinite 40-day trial of WinRAR to Albert Einstein. It quickly debunks this as a false quote and shifts to the central question of why WinRAR's trial period never truly expires. The answer lies in the company's business strategy. Developed by Russian software engineers in the 1990s, WinRAR was intended as 'try before you buy' software, yet it allows continued use even after the trial period ends, with only a persistent reminder to purchase a license.

05:02

💼 WinRAR’s Business Model and User Behavior

This section explains that while WinRAR prompts users to buy a license after the trial ends, most users, especially home users, continue using it for free without purchasing a license. The company is aware of this behavior and permits it, treating it as a part of their business strategy. According to the WinRAR CEO, allowing continued free use helps reduce piracy and builds user trust. The reminder message serves as a soft nudge rather than a hard restriction, allowing the software to remain popular globally.

💻 WinRAR’s Revenue from Business Licenses

This paragraph discusses how WinRAR generates revenue primarily from businesses, not from home users. Businesses are legally obligated to comply with software licensing requirements, so they purchase licenses to avoid legal repercussions. These business licenses are a major source of income for WinRAR. Although home users rarely purchase licenses, they still contribute by keeping the software in use, maintaining high download counts, and increasing the software's visibility and recognition.

🇨🇳 WinRAR's Free Version and Global Reach

The paragraph highlights that WinRAR has taken additional steps to expand its global reach, including releasing a completely free personal edition in China in 2015. It also mentions WinRAR’s Android app, which is free but generates revenue through ads. Unlike the desktop version, the Android app does not have the persistent reminder message. WinRAR’s business strategy seems focused on allowing broad use of the software, even at the cost of lost potential revenue from individual users, in exchange for higher visibility and long-term recognition.

🔔 Nagware and WinRAR’s Subtle Strategy

The final paragraph delves into the concept of 'nagware,' software that persistently reminds users to purchase a license, which fits WinRAR’s model. Despite being somewhat annoying to users, WinRAR’s non-restrictive approach has kept them from switching to alternative, free archiving tools like 7-Zip. The company could easily enforce license purchases by disabling the software after the trial, but they choose not to. This user-friendly approach has helped WinRAR become widely accepted. The paragraph ends with a typical YouTube sign-off, encouraging likes, shares, and subscriptions.

Keywords

💡WinRAR

WinRAR is a file archiver utility for Windows that allows users to create, view, and unpack archive files, particularly in RAR and ZIP formats. In the video, WinRAR is presented as a widely used software that can still be accessed even after the official 40-day trial period ends, showcasing its unique business model.

💡40-day trial period

The 40-day trial period is the designated time during which users can use all the features of WinRAR for free before being prompted to purchase a license. The video emphasizes how, even after this trial expires, users can continue to use WinRAR, albeit with regular reminder messages, a core part of its business strategy.

💡RAR

RAR is a proprietary archive file format developed by Evgeny Roshal that supports data compression, error recovery, and file spanning. This format is the foundation of WinRAR and is critical to understanding its purpose, as the video explains the origins of both RAR and WinRAR in the early 1990s.

💡Business strategy

WinRAR's business strategy allows users to continue using the software after the trial period, which increases brand visibility and user retention. The video discusses how this approach helps combat software piracy and encourages businesses, rather than individuals, to purchase licenses, making it a highly strategic move.

💡Software piracy

Software piracy refers to the illegal use or distribution of software without proper licensing. The video explains how WinRAR’s approach of allowing extended free use after the trial helps reduce piracy, as users have little incentive to seek harmful, pirated versions when they can use the legitimate software for free.

💡Nagware

Nagware is software that continuously reminds users to purchase a license after a trial period has ended, but still allows full functionality. WinRAR is an example of nagware, as it constantly prompts users with reminder messages after the 40-day trial but does not limit the software's functionality.

💡Businesses

Businesses are the primary revenue source for WinRAR, as they are legally obligated to purchase licenses for all software used by their employees. The video highlights how this group is the key to WinRAR’s profitability, as businesses tend to comply with legal requirements to maintain reputations and avoid sanctions.

💡2013 Interview with CEO

In a 2013 interview, the CEO of WinRAR, Rolf-Carl Bohme, explained how the company benefits from allowing users to continue using the software without a license. This insight underscores WinRAR’s unique and liberal approach to licensing, helping to explain why the company thrives despite widespread non-payment by home users.

💡Free alternatives

Free alternatives, such as 7-Zip, are mentioned as competitors to WinRAR. The video suggests that WinRAR’s decision to let users continue without paying prevents them from switching to these alternatives, as they can keep using the fully functional version without interruptions.

💡Revenue sources

Revenue sources for WinRAR come primarily from businesses, as mentioned in the video. While home users rarely purchase licenses, businesses do so to avoid legal issues. This explains how WinRAR can afford to maintain a free-to-use policy for individual users without sacrificing profitability.

Highlights

Albert Einstein never actually said the famous 'infinite WinRAR trial' quote; it's just a meme.

WinRAR's trial period technically expires after 40 days, but users can continue using it with full functionality despite not purchasing a license.

WinRAR was developed by Russian software engineer Evgeny Roshal in 1993, with his brother Alexander holding the copyright.

WinRAR is based on the RAR archive format, which supports data compression, error recovery, and file spanning.

The company's business strategy allows users to keep using WinRAR after the trial period, benefiting from widespread adoption and reducing piracy.

The hallmark message reminding users to buy WinRAR appears after the trial period but does not block access to its features.

CEO of WinRAR, Burak Canboy, stated that WinRAR benefits from allowing users to continue using the software post-trial, reducing the need for pirated versions.

WinRAR primarily makes money from business licenses as companies must adhere to legal standards and avoid software piracy.

Home users contribute by keeping download counts high, leading to better ratings, reviews, and brand recognition.

Conversion rates from free trial to paid licenses are generally low across the software industry, with rates of 25% or less.

WinRAR released a completely free personal edition for users in China in 2015, further emphasizing their strategy.

WinRAR’s Android app is free to use, with revenue generated through ads, and it does not include the nagging reminder to purchase.

WinRAR’s constant reminders classify it as 'nagware,' but it is viewed positively since the company allows continuous free usage.

Allowing users to keep using WinRAR after the trial deters them from switching to free alternatives like 7-Zip.

WinRAR's unique business strategy is highly effective in combating piracy while maintaining a large user base.

Transcripts

but Albert Einstein once said two things

are infinite the universe and the 40-day

trial for winrar I'm not sure about the

universe of course Albert Einstein never

said that

that's just a slightly modified meme but

what is the deal with winrar how come

you can continue using it for free even

after the 40 day trial period expired

well long story short it's actually

because of the company's business

strategy they actually allow it in 1993

the world was introduced to a shawl

archive or rar

a proprietary archive file format that

supports data compression error recovery

in file spanning it was developed by

Russian software engineer evgeny allows

that Avicii Shaw but the copyright for

the file format is held by his brother

Alex conduct two years later we got

WinRAR a file archiver utility for

Windows which would be used to create

and view archives in rar or zip file

formats and also unpacked a whole bunch

of other archive file formats WinRAR is

distributed as a try before you buy

software which would mean that you can

use it for free during a defined period

of time and then make a decision on

whether you would like to keep it or not

if you would like to continue using it

according to the Terms of Use you have

to purchase a license but if you ever

use this software and chances are you

probably have you know that you can

continue using it after the trial period

despite the fact that you didn't

purchase a license and all the

functionalities that were there when you

just installed it will still work the

only thing is that you'll constantly

have to deal with its hallmark reminder

message please note that WinRAR is not

from software after a 40 day trial

period you must either buy a license or

remove it from your computer now if I

guess that the majority of the people

watching this video never purchased that

license I'm pretty sure I won't be far

off home users rarely do and if you're

feeling guilty about it don't be so hard

on yourself because the company knows

that you're using their software for

free and as it turns out they actually

allow it while talking about software

piracy in a 2013 interview for a soft

sonic CEO of WinRAR

rock cam Boyd stated the following the

problem does not hurt us as much as it

may hurt others since we already have a

very liberal way of allowing users to

continue using our software after the

trial period is over many users actually

believe our software is freeware and why

would you bother about using a pirated

and potentially harmful version if the

original can be used instead allowing

users to continue using WinRAR without a

license after the 40 day trial period is

something that the software actually

benefits from in fact it can be viewed

as a very bold business strategy one

that not only helped the company battle

software piracy but also allowed WinRAR

to become one of the most commonly used

programs in the world and that's great

but the next logical question is how do

they make money and the answer is

Simpson through businesses the winner

our general terms and conditions of

business for customers imply the

following the customer may download the

rar software at no charge from the

websites WinRAR comm and rar lab calm

and use the software again at no charge

for 40 days during this period all of

the functions of the rar software are

available to the user with the exception

of the function add authenticity

information show protocol files and

delete protocol files the purchaser

should test the raw software during the

set pace to determine if it meets his

requirements in need in particular the

customer must determine if the rar

software runs under his operating system

and in his desired hardware and software

environment he promises to acquire a

license for the rar software only if and

when he has assured himself that he can

answer the above-mentioned questions

with yes now even though average home

users usually don't care about legal

stuff businesses have to if they want to

be on the legal side of things or at

least keep a good reputation companies

will buy licenses for all the software

their employees views and the same

applies in this case of course not all

companies played by the book but a great

number of them that do buy licenses in

order to avoid potential sanctions or

prosecution are the greatest sources

revenue for win run and apps for the

average home users well they have their

role - I like how one Reddit user put it

so these are still helped in small but

important way

by keeping the software in use keeping

download counters high leading ratings

and reviews keeping the name out there

and recognized by allowing regular users

to keep using the software's

functionality but with the price of

constantly getting the little nag

message the company increases the

chances of people actually purchasing

when we are whether it be out of on a

steep hill or even by accident getting

users to buy fully featured programs is

not that easy according to industry

research firm soft letters 66% of online

companies surveyed had free trial to

paying customer conversion rates of only

25% or less but in the case of WinRAR it

would appear that they simply want their

software to be out there so much that in

2015 they officially released a

completely free to use personal Edition

for China it's also worth noting that

winner has an Android app it is free but

it can accumulate revenue through ads

and in case you're wondering no that

version actually doesn't have the little

nak message because of this dialog box

WinRAR pretty much fits the definition

of nag where a term for software that

persistently reminds the user to

purchase a license this type of software

is also referred to as beg wear and even

annoy wear obviously because people are

often irritated by the constant

reminders but when you think about it

it's really not such a bad thing at

least not in the case of win draw the

developers could easily prevent you from

using the software after the 40 day

trial period ends but they don't sure it

is a way of keeping users from switching

to free alternatives like 7-zip but

still in my humble opinion that's a

pretty cool move

but that would be all for this time if

you enjoyed the video please leave a

like and maybe even share the video with

your friends the more content in the

future just hit that subscribe button

and I will see you in the next one

thanks for watching and as always stay

strong

[Music]

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