WinZip acquired by Vector

WinZip has been acquired by turnaround investor Vector Capital. The popular shareware program has been downloaded more than 140 million times and this number increases with 500,000 downloads a week.

After a 30-day trial the program asks a $29 fee but it continues to work like before without paying. Until now WinZip also provided free upgrades and new versions but Vector will try to change this by reminding users a bit more firmly that the software costs money.

They will also give paying users some new features and they have signed a marketing and distribution agreement with search engine king Google. More info at CNET