How about some basic information

On the menu bar up top of the page, hover over "My NaNoWriMo" and do "Edit Novel Info" until the end of the month you can only input the word count number yourself as an honor system.

Or you can copy and paste your work so far into the field below where it asks for the word count, and it will count your words for you.

For now simply type in your total word count into the box next to your name in the upper right corner of the webpage. Yes, this is an honor system. Later this month, the official word count validator will be activated. Then you will upload your entire document into it, and the program will count your words for you. (Currently a test version of the validator is active.)

"Life is too important to be taken seriously." -- Oscar Wilde

Follow up question does the word counter know if a word is misspelled? Or more specifically does a misspelled word count as a word?

No the word counter doesn't know if it is misspelled and yes they count as words.
Thank goodness cause I use an invented language in my work.

Also you can scramble your words for security if you are concerned. I did my first year and it was disastrous (to me) cause I knew I had a few thousand words to go but it said I had written hundreds of thousand words... but it had counted each letter!

So up to you but it doesn't read or keep your words. I don't scramble mine any more.
BTW I did win with 52,809 words that year.

Whatever you can do or think you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.
~~Goethe