Processes in Microsoft 365 for setting up Office apps, redeeming product keys, and activating licenses.
In theory, yes you can (probably) install it.
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"Officially" it is not identified as compatible with Windows 10 (wasn't around in 2003!).
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2003 reached its "end of life" in 2013 and is no longer supported by MS.
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2003 presents the same general risk as any program that no longer is supported by the maker. It is open to malware attacks that have been patched in supported versions. This is an issue for a couple of reasons:
- change in computer programs tends to be evolutionary, new stuff is bolted on, known issues are fixed and a few features are removed or made obsolete. From one version to the next, the base code is +95% the same. So, when a hacker discovers a problem in a current version, there is a very good chance (almost certainty) that the problem exists in most if not all previous versions. The problem will be fixed in supported versions, but not in unsupported versions.
- Rather than focusing attacks on using only new hacks against current versions only hackers use all of the attacks they own. It effectively costs them nothing to unleash a blizzard of new and old hacks against all versions of a program because hackers buy cheap time on hacked / "zombie" / botnet computers.
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In theory, there are techniques that allow you to run unsupported versions relatively securely. But this techniques are not things that the "average user" is willing to do. Therefore they are exposed to hacking.
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If you do decide go with 2003, one of the things you need to find is the installer for the "Office 2007 Compatibilty Pack". This adds functionality to allow 2003 to open the new "X-File" formats.
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MS Office 2007 Compatibility / 2010 Compatibility Pack for Office 2000 thru 2003
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=27836
This is a 3^rd^ party download, Softpedia, for times you can’t find the download at MS.
If you would be satisfied with the features in 2003, you probably would be satisfied with the free Office Online apps you can use with your email address, through OneDrive.
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Otherwise you should buy a current version of Office . Again, if you are ok using 2003, you will be OK with using one-time payment Office 2019 instead of a keep-paying-dane-gelt-forever 365 subscription.
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Office 2019 is cost effective if you only need to install on only one computer.
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Here is a long article on the options avaible when getting a new "Office" bundle:
I Need Office, What Should I Get: Pros vs Cons – WIKI – buy Office - “Free” Office – Buy Office
The article got too long for the forum, so I moved it to a Word document and uploaded it to OneDrive. You can view or download it from here:
https://1drv.ms/w/s!Am8lVyUzjKfpoGos7ovI66isqzKN?e=kqK1Qj
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Short form, you have several basic options:
. #1 Office Online, free, but not fully functional
. #2 Office 365 Family, "free", if you can get a "share" from someone who has paid, use on up to 5 computers
. #3 Office 2019 Home and Student, buy with US$150 1-time payment, use on 1 computer
. #4 Office 365 Personal, rent / pay-forever US$70/year, 1 user, you can use on up to 5 computers
. #5 Office 365 Family, rent / pay for-ever US$100/year, up to 6 users, each can use on up to 5 computers, works out to as low as $17 each per year
. #6 Non-MS alternatives to Office, not exactly identical, but free or cheap
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Unfortunately, "buying" Office has become a big decision tree.
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You can take the easy way out and rent Office 365 forever from MS, at full retail price, (whether you really NEED the "extra" features you are paying for) or you can take some time to investigate all of the options to find the best deal for you.
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If you meet the right conditions, you really can get Office for FREE or much cheaper than everyone else who is paying the full retail price.
Check out the wiki I go into more detail outlining these options:
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You will have to decide for yourself. You can to trade off long term cost and features If your needs are very simple, you won’t need to spend much or work with one of the free options. But if you are a more “advanced” user, using multiple Office applications and sharing documents/files with others you will have to pay for one of the “Microsoft” (Office) 365 / Office 2019 bundles.