So this, I admit, is a bit embarrassing to ask. I am trying to make a custom resource pack, and I need to be able to open the JAR files. The computer I'm using has nothing on it to extract files.I looked for Winrar but could only find a $30 version and the rest of the links I didn't know whether to trust. I need to know what to download to do this with, and the proper link (if possible) for the download. Here's the thing: It needs to be free.. and more than anything else it needs to be safe. I am currently using a shared computer which doesn't belong to me. I need to get the right program in the first time and not mess anything up. So I'm reaching out to the community for direction.
http://download.cnet.com/WinRAR-32-bit/3000-2250_4-10007677.html Use this. It gives you a 40 day "trial", and thankfully, it is weakly enforced. After your trial ends, it will notify you each time you use it to open a file. You can just use the "Close" option and it works as normal lol. 7zip is a free alternative, but I always found it difficult too use and not to friendly with my files.
A fun little trick if you don't want to download anything, make a copy of the jar and change the extension to .zip . Windows will now let you view it as you would a normal zip file. Fun fact, you can do the same thing with word documents.
