This is technical information intended and written for system administrators, etc.

In the past, Vmware Fusion and Workstation Pro were pay-for-it / licensed products. After Broadcom bought Vmware, they now offer it at no cost, but good luck with figuring out how to download it. There is a long list of moaning on their support site. However, thanks to all those folks, I did figure out how to do it in about two hours. We can hope that Broadcom will make this easier, but my prediction is they will decide to eliminate it - it's not making them any money, after all.

Here is how I finally downloaded it in a reasonable time frame. Again, my disclaimer is that you can figure out the gaps if you are a savvy technical person, but this isn't meant to be a step-by-step with pictures of how-to.

The most helpful steps are at this website: https://www.mikeroysoft.com/post/download-fusion-ws/

1. Although my existing Broadcom user account didn't work, I used DuckDuckGo to create a new email address.

2. Create a duck email - start HERE. Sign up for DuckDuckGo Email | Email Protection Requires DuckDuckGo. This will install the duck protection extension in your browser. You must turn it on, which is different for every browser.

3. Go to https://duckduckgo.com/email and log in. You should be able to generate an email address that ends in @duck.com. Forward it to your existing email address of choice.

4. Go to the Broadcom support web page at https://support.broadcom.com/ and register using your new email address. There will be some exchange of authentication to your email.

5. Once you log on to the Broadcom support site, it will appear that you are not. However, a quick look at the top right will show your name and that you are logged on.

6. To the left of your name, there will be a dropdown list with a picture of some clouds. Use that and choose "VMware Cloud Foundation." This will take you to your VMware Cloud Foundation dashboard.

7. On the left menu, choose the My Downloads item. The next screen will show a number of downloads. At the top right, use the Search box to search for "workstation". You should see two choices: VMware Workstation Player and VMware Workstation Pro.

8. Choose VMware Workstation Pro, then select the version you want on the next page.

9. There will be a list of code releases; choose the release you want.

10. This is important—just above the top left of the title, like "VMware Workstation Pro...", there will be a checkbox you must check: "I agree to the Terms and Conditions."

11. You can then click the download icon. This will bring up a form to verify your information, such as your name and address. If you use an existing account, it may require a review, which could take several days. When I used a new email address, it did not require a review, and I could download it immediately.

12. Download and check your SHA2. Enjoy the now free VMware Workstation Pro!!

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