Many people feel the need to use Torrents to pirate software that would normally be paid for, however by doing this torrent users are putting themselves at risk to all kinds of Trojan related Malware. However there are alternatives to pirating software and that is to look further into the fabulous world of open source!.
There are many alternatives to your favourite paid products that work just as well (if not better in my opinion). Downloading pirated versions of Microsoft office means that any security vulnerabilities associated with that version will still be present as you will be unable to update the office suite. Therefore it’s best to keep yourself safe and just download free and legal alternatives.
In this edition we are covering alternatives to the Microsoft Office suite.
OpenOffice (Windows/Mac OS X/Linux) — Free
OpenOffice is one of the most renowned open source office suite software on the market and has been so for almost 15 years. The bundle includes tools for creating word documents, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases, and a number of office type file types. The software stores your data in an international open standard format, and like most offerings on our list, it can also read and save Microsoft Word documents.
LibreOffice (Windows/Mac OS X/Linux) — Free
Essentially an open office suite that parted ways with Apache OpenOffice back in 2010, LibreOffice uses the same underlying source code under the hood and features the same basic productivity tools as OpenOffice. It works in a similar manner, allowing you to create and edit documents compatible with Microsoft Word and Publisher, but it also showcases a few more advanced features and functionality given the sheer amount of available extensions and customization. For instance, the software even touts a Wiki publisher and simple template changer.
Kingsoft Office Free (Windows/Linux) — Free
If Kingsoft Office kind of looks like a knock off of Office, and, that’s because it essentially is. The software,was developed in China and is essentially a stripped down version of Microsoft’s Office and includes the three basic Microsoft Office counterparts like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint (otherwise known as Writer, Spreadsheets, and Presentation). Although its features and three attractive interface options almost seem to directly reflect Microsoft Office at times, there are enough variations and customization options for it to stand on its own. Furthermore, the software is quick, compact, and compatible with the file formats you’d expect including DOC and XLS. Aside from the basic features and phenomenal support for first-time users, Kingsoft Office Free also includes the ability to create multi-page ebooks, convert PDF files, add watermarks, and manage tabs amongst a number of other notable features. Plus as an extra that other free office suits don’t normally provide it has integrated file backups and complimentary mobile apps for Android and iOS.
For those who wish to migrate to an alternative to Microsoft Windows we have an article for you here