This YouTuber Registered WinRAR in 2021 so you don’t have to

YouTuber Clint Basinger, also known as LGR, has registered his version of WinRAR, the long-running file archival tool famous for its incredibly lax “try before you buy” licensing model. 

WinRAR allows its users to utilise the software for 40 days without charge, after which the tool’s non-enterprise functions will remain accessible, albeit after a warning message. 

For his audience on YouTube, LGR registered his copy of the popular archival tool and tested his license key across most versions of the application, moving from today’s 6.0 version of WinRAR on Windows 10 to version 4.0 on Windows XP, 3.0 on Windows 98 and 20. on Windows 95. 

Surprisingly, LGR’s license key for WinRAR worked on versions of WinRAR that dated back to the early 2000s, even though the license key was purchased in 2021. The app could be registered on Windows 98 on version 3.0 of WinRAR, with version 2.0 of WinRAR using a different license code structure. 

Below is Clint Besinger’s description for his YouTube video, which highlights a glimpse of WinRAR’s history, and why its licensing model is a part of memes to this day.