💻/🖥️ Install Microsoft Office from a Trusted Source

TYPE	AUDIENCE	PRIORITY	COMPLEXITY	EFFORT	COST	UPDATED
Preparation	🏗️	⭐⭐	⭐⭐	🏗️	💵💵💵	2021-06-24

Rationale

Pirated versions of Microsoft Office are widely available - in both online and physical market places. You can often get them for free - so it may be a very attractive option. However, many of these pirated (also known as "copied", "cracked", "unlocked", "illegal") versions come with hidden software that exposes your computer to risk of remote access and control. So to avoid putting your computer at risk, it's important that you obtain a copy of Office from a trusted source - Microsoft.

Instructions

What you should do

1. Get a license for Office or a subscription

Since the introduction of "Office 365" (now called Microsoft 365), you can either buy a one-time license for an offline version if Office (Office 2019), or you can get an subscription to the online version of Office (Office 365), where the higher tiers also allow you to install the office apps for offline use.

It will depend on your organisational structure, functional needs and its finances which option is best fit. The pros and cons of each option are presented by Windows Central.

If the organisation doesn't have the financial means to prioritise Office licenses or MS 365 subscriptions for the staff, we would recommend working together with donors to solve this potential security and legal risk.

If licensed copies of office remain out of reach, please refer to this guide by Make Use Of which offers some advice on how to use a - limited version of - MS Office for free.

2. Install Office Applications

Follow the instructions from Microsoft on how to install office apps from Microsoft 365 or Office 2019.