Gen Alpha Discord User Fears WinRAR Because Of Sonic.exe, Millennials And Gen Z Twitter Users Feel Closer To Death

September 23rd, 2024 - 1:11 PM EDT by Adam Downer

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sonic.exe and winrar

Anyone older than ~25 on social media is likely familiar with WinRAR, a magical and free program that opens various types of compressed files downloaded from the internet. In its lifetime, WinRAR has helped pre-Spotify Millennials build robust music libraries, and famously, one could download WinRAR and never pay for it despite its continuous reminders that the "free trial" had expired.

Still, when "WinRAR" trended on Twitter / X this morning, it left many users feeling one step closer to the grave.

That's because a Gen Alpha Discord user expressed fear of downloading WinRAR because it came in a ".exe" file — the same type of file found in ultimate Gen Alpha horror staple "Sonic.exe."

Winrar isn't even a real program nice try

The screenshot posted by user @fatbitchez4life (lol) shows a Discord user named "Chloe" expressing distrust of the link to download WinRAR because it's an "exe" file, which she also notably searched for on the Microsoft Store to no avail.

In a follow-up, she says she knows .exe files are bad because of horror copypastas like "Sonic.exe," "Noescape.exe" and "Pony.exe."

A third follow-up message shows she was eventually educated on what WinRAR is and how to use it. Still, the fiasco saw millions of views on Twitter and led to discourse, roasting and jokes about the Kids not being familiar with WinRAR.

The damage of Sonic

While the Olds on Twitter were feeling like grandmas getting put to bed, others conceded that Chloe was right not to trust a "random" link sent to her by a stranger online, even if her logic was flawed.

Smart internet usage for dumb reasons

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Timey16
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Timey16

I always forget that windows by default disabled most file extensions from view (since it's generally the first thing I enable on a fresh install)

So most computer users would never ever even SEE a .exe ending unless it's a file hiding as one (i.e Shockfilm.exe.mp4)

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big_king_smegma
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big_king_smegma

This has to be a very specific window of time. A handful of users can't use plain old Windows to unzip 7z files, and the youths don't remember what WinRAR is. A strange end to an era I never thought would be described as such.

Still, I'll admit a certain degree of schadenfreude knowing that the Zoomers are feeling the march of time now.

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