What's a .RAR???

Please forgive the newbie, but I have a question that's been pluckin' my last nerve since I discovered this wonderful forum. I've been able to download serveral apps from different spots thanks to all of the suggestive spots raised by others. But some of those downloads were .rars, not .exes or .isos like some of the others. Here's my question: what's a .rar file, how does one uses it, and what proper software is needed to make a workable file/cd??? Any and all responses are most welcomed.
 
.zip, .rar, .iso files are one or more files compressed into a single, smaller file. archive files basically you need some type of compression program such as winzip, winace or winrar which i prefer to open .rar, .zip, .iso files.. if you need a more technical you might want to search google.

link to shareware compression programs:
_http://www.webattack.com/Shareware/downloader/swzip.shml

link to freeware compression programs:
_http://www.webattack.com/freeware/downloader/fwzip.shtml
 
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