Cybercriminals specifically choose the .rar format for several strategic reasons to bypass your computer's defenses:

: Search for free, open-source alternatives to the paid software you need. Excellent, community-driven free software exists for almost every premium product (e.g., Blender for 3D modeling, GIMP for photo editing, or LibreOffice for document processing).

Files distributed on the internet as "cracks" for paid software are one of the most common vectors used by cybercriminals to deliver malware.

: A vast majority of publicly available software cracks are bundled with malicious payloads. These include Trojans, ransomware, crypto-miners, and spyware.