Self-extracting archive

Running on a compatible operating system, it does not need a suitable extractor in the target computer to extract the data.

[citation needed] A self-extracting archive is extracted and stored on a disk when executed under an operating system that supports it.

Many embedded self-extractors support a number of command-line arguments, such as specifying the target location or selecting only specific files.

While some formats of self-extracting archives cannot be extracted under another operating system, non-self-extracting ones can usually still be opened using a suitable extractor.

[citation needed] Decompression utilities must be able to handle both the file format and the algorithm used when expanding self-extracting or standard archives.

[citation needed] As long as the underlying compression algorithm and format allow it, self-extracting archives can also be encrypted for security.

[citation needed] It is important to note, however, that in many cases, the file and directory names are not included in the encryption and can be viewed by anyone without a key or password.

If a person can guess part of the contents of the files from their names or context alone, an attacker may be able to break the encryption on the entire archive with a short amount of computing power and time.