One of the advantages of using a personal computer is the variety of personal productivity tools available, such as web browsers, email clients and photo-editing software. Among the most commonly used programs, however, are those for word processing. There are several products you can use, but Microsoft Word is one of the most popular and is easy to download.

Note and Warning

Microsoft Word is not a stand-alone product as it once was, and as such is only available as part of the Microsoft Office suite. It is also important to note the distinction between Word Viewer and the fully-featured Microsoft Word. Word Viewer is a free and widely available Microsoft product, but it can't be used to create, save or edit new documents. As a warning, searching the web will reveal countless websites and offers for free downloads of Microsoft Word and Microsoft Office, but Microsoft.com is the only legitimate and safe place that offers Microsoft Office. Any of the Word or Office products available from bit torrent file sharing or so-called warez sites are certainly illegal and may actually be smaller programs that contain viruses, trojans or worms that may infect your computer without your knowledge.

Download Microsoft Office

The Microsoft Office suite is available for a free, trial download at Microsoft.com. Click on the "Office" tab at Microsoft.com and choose "Office Trials." Here there are four products from which to choose: Office Professional, Home and Student, Standard, and Small Business. Each has a different price and feature set which you can easily compare via a popup chart linked to the page. Once you've decided which product is right for you, click "Try Now," then "Download Now" and then "Proceed to Download." Here you will need to click the "Create New Account" link to create a Windows Live ID if you don't already have one. Enter an email address and password, click "Create My Account," and you will be taken to the actual download page. Copy the 25-digit product key on the left side of the page and then click the "Download Now!" button on the right. Once the download is complete, click on the saved file, follow the installation instructions and enter the product key to activate. Bear in mind, though, that you will be prompted to purchase the copy of Microsoft Office once the trial period expires.

Source:

Microsoft Download Center

Microsoft

Panda Security

Resource:

Trial Products