Best configuration for encryption without compression - sharing what I learned

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IMTheNachoMan
Posts: 86
Joined: Sun Nov 20, 2022 5:11 am

Best configuration for encryption without compression - sharing what I learned

Post by IMTheNachoMan »

I did a few tests and I am sharing this in case it helps others. I ultimately decided that I did not need compression but I do want encryption. If you enable encryption, it will still compress using 7z format. I played around with a few options to see what the end result would look like.

Source:
  • 12,374 files
  • 1,204 folders
  • 435,438,118 bytes
  • mostly text files (code)
Comparision:
  • no compression, ZIP-Compatible AES (256 bit) encryption = 64,892,252 bytes (85% reduction)
  • zip with compression level = none, ZIP-Compatible AES (256 bit) encryption = 439,086,948 bytes (0.8% increase)
  • zip with compression level = max, ZIP-Compatible AES (256 bit) encryption = 82,076,092 bytes (81% reduction)
  • 7z with compression level = none, ZIP-Compatible AES (256 bit) encryption = 64,892,252 bytes (85% reduction)
  • 7z with compression level = ultra, ZIP-Compatible AES (256 bit) encryption = 64,892,252 bytes (85% reduction)
So, from what I can tell, if you want encryption but no compression and you want it fast, then you should select ZIP/none for compression to force it to use ZIP over 7z.

One caveat, even using ZIP/none for compression, if the file is encrypted then Windows 10's built in ZIP utility cannot unzip/extract the encrypted file. You have to use 7zip.

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