8 Best Windows 8 Business Apps to Increase Productivity

Windows 8 has begun to provide its users with productive apps transforming these Window s devices into productive devices. At the very least, downloading these business apps will help you when it comes to doing business. Have a look at these sweet as sugar Windows 8 Business Apps.

Cool Windows 7 Transparent Themes Free Download

Kudos! Today I have come up with 5 cool Windows 7 Themes that are awesomely transparent. You could feel the right edge of transparency with the real feel of Windows 7.

Microsoft recommends using Animation Library for Fast and Fluid Metro Apps

 
Since animations are an integral part of the user experience with the new Windows 8 operating system and the Metro design language, Microsoft is offering app developers a few tips on having fast and fluid animations for their Metro apps. On top of that, Microsoft has made available an Animation Library for developers to use.

Google Drive Is Live With 5GB of Free Storage

You must have heard of GOOGLE DRIVE before and this time the most awaited rumor is live.Drive is a free storage system for photos, videos, documents, PDFs and will also allow users to 'drag and Drop' their files from Macs or PCs instead of storing them on their own hard drives. The system works cool with phone apps on both Androids and devices such as iPad or iPhone.

Install Windows XP SP3 without Product Key

As in  Windows Vista, Window XP SP3 users can complete operating system installation without providing a Windows XP product key during a full, integrated installation of Windows XP SP3.

How to Create PDF Documents in MS Office 2010

Microsoft Office 2010 have a built-in feature to Save your documents in PDF format. You can convert any documents  into PDF and attach to emails directly from the Office program. 

How Secure is Gmail data within Google?

All of you might know that all your emails are stored in Gmail.  Can the Google employees working in Google read your products ?

All your private & confidential emails are stored in the Gmail mailbox. But are these mails secure?

The NEW Bing Hitting hard on Google

Bing Search has finally hit the Internet,  by this time you may have heard about the new Bing Preview if not then you can know about it. 

Microsoft announced Bing officially at the ATD Conference. Microsoft also said that it's there Trump Card against the Search Engine Giant, Google. 

Microsoft says Google secretly planted Cookies in IE too

Fresh off the report that Google was bypassing the privacy features of Safari Users by planting Cookies that could track the browsing habits. Also latest reports from Microsoft says that Google has been doing the same thing on Internet Explorer.

Microsoft sends Valentine's Day gifts

People send Roses on Valentine's Day. But This year Microsoft shows their great love towards the users by sending the Micrsoft Windows Operating System Users by sending Nine Valuable and Important Patches on Valentine's Day.

Do you want to know what they contain ? 

Microsoft is giving it's users a bouquet of security fixes.

Most Of the Patches sent where mainly for Windows 7 Users, Microsoft's current Trump card.

5 things to look for from Microsoft in 2012

It's not that 2011 was a particularly difficult year. The company posted record revenue for the fiscal year that ended June 30. And its 2-year-old PC operating system, Windows 7, hit 500 million copies sold, further embedding it as the most widely used operating system in the world. But 2011 had few big product launches at the company, Office 365 and Internet Explorer 9 notwithstanding.

Next year will be altogether different. Microsoft is prepping the big kahuna of its product arsenal,Windows 8. The company hasn't set a date, though most analysts expect the flagship operating system to debut before the end of the year, and perhaps in time for back-to-school shopping. From that product, much else from Redmond flows.

So here are five things to look for from Microsoft in 2012:

1. Windows 8 tablets

Windows 8 is one of the boldest bets Microsoft will make, radically changing the interface on the operating system to the company's tile-based Metro look, first used by Windows Phone 7 last year. The familiar desktop photo covered with application and file icons will be available to PC users who want it. But Microsoft is pushing the new touch-friendly interface to convince consumers to buy tablet computers that will run it.

It won't be an easy sell. Microsoft will be coming to the tablet market more than two years after Apple iPad launched and quickly became a commercial success. And this holiday season, Amazon debuted its Kindle Fire, which became the first non-Apple tablet to gain a meaningful foothold. Market analyst Forrester recently reported that consumer interest in Windows tablets is waning.

As the core of computing moves beyond the PC, Microsoft needs Windows 8 tablets to succeed. It's all the more pressing as PC growth sputters and the tablet computer market soars.

The market muscle of Microsoft and its partners will help propel Windows tablets at their debut. But unless Microsoft can convince developers to create tablet-specific apps that users can't live without, the devices will have a hard time making a dent in iPad's massive lead.

2. Xbox moves farther into live TV

Even in its earliest days, Microsoft's video game console business was pegged as a Trojan Horse to bring the company's technology from the office to the living room. But the brains behind Xbox knew they had to make a great gaming experience job No. 1. Now, leading the United States in console sales in 2011, Xbox is pushing in earnest beyond gaming.

Microsoft just brought the first hint of live TV to Xbox consoles with an updated look to its Xbox Live service earlier this month. In addition to introducing the Metro-style look to Xbox, it also let customers of Verizon's Fios cable television service choose from 26 different live TV channels--Comedy Central, HBO, and Nickelodeon. A handful of other partners are offering live programming through Xbox as well.

That's clearly just the start for Microsoft. The company is moving toward the goal of getting consumers to fire up their Xbox whenever they flip on their TVs, not just when they want to play a game. Next year will see more live television content come to Xbox Live. It's a foundation that Microsoft will build out as it readies the next version of the Xbox console, something a source on the Xbox team says will happen in 2013.

3. Windows Phone: We're No. 3

It may be a measure of the decade-long struggle to succeed in mobile telephony that, for Microsoft, a victory would be grabbing the third place spot in terms of smartphone market share for its Windows Phone software. While the company has wrestled to arrive at a winning formula, rivals Apple and Google have introduced mobile-phone operating systems that have seized business that Microsoft had hoped to grab.

Microsoft rebooted its phone effort at the end of last year, introducing a passel of new phones from partners running its brand new operating system, Windows Phone 7. The slick-looking software, refreshed in September with an update dubbed Mango, has won plaudits from reviewers for its animation and app integration.

While the technology is catching up with rivals, Windows Phone's market share hasn't. According to market research firm Gartner, just 1.5 percent of the smartphones worldwide run Microsoft's operating system. And rivals aren't standing still. Apple's new iPhone 4S has outsold every other mobile phone since its debut in October. And despite the market fragmentation of Google's Android, with different handset manufacturers running different versions of the mobile operating system, it continues to pull ahead in the marketplace.

There's little doubt that Windows Phone share will grow, if only because of the marketing push Microsoft and partners, particularly Nokia, will make, coupled with the tiny toehold it currently has. But it's most likely to grab customers from Research In Motion's foundering Blackberry business rather than established Apple and Google customers.

4. Patent litigation aggressor

The ground Microsoft hasn't been able to take away from Android in the marketplace may well be covered by the revenue it's able to generate through the threat of litigation. The software giant has persuaded several handset makers--including HTC, Wistron, and Compal-- to pay it a vig for each Android device they sell to settle allegations that the mobile operating system violates Microsoft's patents.

The Android device makers that don't pay? Microsoft's taking them to court. Two high profile cases will move toward resolution next year-- Microsoft's suit against Barnes & Noble, whose Nook e-reader runs Android, and a separate suit against Motorola. (Google is in the process of acquiring Motorola Mobility.)

The tactic has proven so successful that in 2011, Microsoft started collecting fees from companies that make devices running Google's Chrome operating system as well, including Acer and ViewSonic. Expect Microsoft to continue to press device makers that use its rival's technology. Likewise, count on those manufacturers, particularly the smaller ones, to pay up rather than face Microsoft in the courthouse.

5. Growing search through social

Like the mobile-phone business, Microsoft has bounced from one strategy to the next in a bid to be more relevant in Internet search. It's re-branded its search engine a few times, added key partners, and cycled through senior executives, and still significantly trails market leader Google.

There's one Microsoft partnership that could start to pay off in 2012, and it's not the deal to handle search queries from Yahoo. It's Microsoft's deal with Facebook. In May, Microsoft began including recommendations from Facebook friends into its Bing search engine, creating customized results by elevating the ones that receive a "like" from someone in the searcher's Facebook network. So when someone is looking for a Thai restaurant in Seattle, for example, a spot that earned a like from a Facebook friend will rise in that person's particular search rankings.

Google is on to the same formula too, creating its Google+ social network to infuse its search results with customized answers to Web surfer queries. But in social networking, Facebook remains king. Using Facebook "likes" are just the first step. Microsoft clearly plans to add more social signals to Bing in 2012. And while that won't topple Google, it does offer the opportunity to grab a large slice of the search business by providing more relevant results.

Internet Explorer more secure than Mozilla Firefox, Says Study

The Microsoft is much much happy now as they have a second position in their hands. Microsoft's Internet Explorer does a better job protecting systems from attackers who already have gained some degree of access than Mozilla's Firefox, and Google's Chrome trumps both of them, according to a new browser security study from Accuvant.

They came up with those results by analyzing the security features of the three most popular web browsers, but have decided not to employ the usual metrics: numbers of patched vulnerabilities, the severity of the flaws and the time it took for the developers to fix them.

As for the raw details, Accuvant's study didn't just focus on the sheer number of published vulnerabilities that a browser has at the time of testing. Rather, Accuvant presumed that a browser vulnerability is going to be exploited in some fashion by a third-party: The security testing, therefore, focused on the strength of a browser's anti-exploitation measures after-the-fact—"the software with the best anti-exploitation technologies is likely to be the most resistant to attack and is the most crucial consideration in browser security," Accuvant wrote.

While Google's Chrome browser won the day in Accuvant's research, the browser didn't sail through with a perfect score. Accuvant noted that Chrome, along with the other two browsers in the test, failed to adequately offer up strong enough URL blacklisting to pass Accuvant's examinations—a daily comparison of roughly 6,000 malware-related URLs against either Microsoft's URL Reporting Service or Google's Safe Browsing List.

"Gathering intelligence about malware URLs is generally performed by running honeypots and spamtraps, and harvesting URLs from malware captured in the wild. Since no authoritative source exists, it is likely that each organization gathering data is getting one part of the overall picture," Accuvant wrote. "Based on Accuvant's analysis, no party is performing this data collection comprehensively."

And while all three browsers employ address space layout randomization (ASLR), data execution prevention (DEP) and stack cookies (GS), Firefox does not implement sandboxing (the separation of running programs), plug-in security and Just-In-Time hardening (preventing javascript located on websites from compiling code that can be run on the target system).
That said, Chrome's apparent excellence in sandboxing, plug-in security, JIT hardening, and Address Space Layout Randomization, among other features, was enough to win it top honors. But Mozilla isn't letting Accuvant have the last word regarding the security of its browser.

Microsoft Silverlight 5 Released

Microsoft released Silverlight 5, which could be the last major release of Microsoft’s application framework  for writing and running rich Internet applications.

Microsoft made available on December 9 for download the gold version of Silverlight 5, the latest version of its browser plug-in and Web, desktop and mobile development platform.

Silverlight Version 5 will be supported by Microsoft until 2021 — which is a much longer period of time than previous Silverlight releases have been supported.

• Download Silverlight 5 plug-in ~ Aprox. 7 MB
 

The version 5 release supports all the Previous platforms which it's previous versions of  Silverlight did: Windows, Mac.

 It also works with Safari, Firefox, Google Chrome and Internet Explorer.

Silverlight 5’s  special  features include Hardware decode of H.264 media; extensionof the trusted application model to the browser; and graphics stack improvements with 3D support using the XNA programming interface on Windows.

Silverlight 5 was originally expected to be released to the Web in November 2011.

Read more at > Techbay.com

What is Duqu Virus - How to Secure computer from Duqu Virus

Symantec Corporation has reported that they have discovered a new virus ‘Duqu’. In the initial investigation it has been found that this virus has been installed on computer using Microsoft Word Document files.Thus far, no-one had been able to recover the installer for the threat and therefore no-one had any idea how Duqu was initially infecting systems. Fortunately, an installer has recently been recovered due to the great work done by the team at CrySyS.

The installer file is a Microsoft Word document (.doc) that exploits a previously unknown kernel vulnerability that allows code execution. We contacted Microsoft regarding the vulnerability and they're working diligently towards issuing a patch and advisory. When the file is opened, malicious code executes and installs the main Duqu binaries. The chart below explains how the exploit in the Word document file eventually leads to the installation of Duqu.

Figure 1: Duqu infection schematics.

The Word document was crafted in such a way as to definitively target the intended receiving organization. Furthermore, the shell-code ensured that Duqu would only be installed during an eight-day window in August. Please note that this installer is the only installer to have been recovered at the time of writing—the attackers may have used other methods of infection in different organizations. Unfortunately, no robust workarounds exist at this time other than following best practices, such as avoiding documents from unknown parties and utilizing alternative software. Fortunately, most security vendors already detect and block the main Duqu files, thereby preventing the attack.

Once Duqu is able to get a foothold in an organization through the zero-day exploit, the attackers can command it to spread to other computers. In one organization, evidence was found that showed the attackers commanding Duqu to spread across SMB shares. Interestingly though, some of the newly infected computers did not have the ability to connect to the Internet and thereby the command-and-control (C&C) server. The Duqu configuration files on these computers were instead configured not to communicate directly with the C&C server, but to use a file-sharing C&C protocol with another compromised computer that had the ability to connect to the C&C server. Consequently, Duqu creates a bridge between the network's internal servers and the C&C server. This allowed the attackers to access Duqu infections in secure zones with the help of computers outside the secure zone being used as proxies.

While the number of confirmed Duqu infections is still limited, using the above techniques we have seen Duqu spread across several countries. At the time of writing, Duqu infections have been confirmed in six possible organizations in eight countries.

The confirmed six possible organizations and their countries of presence include:

•    Organization A - France, Netherlands, Switzerland, Ukraine
•    Organization B - India
•    Organization C - Iran
•    Organization D - Iran
•    Organization E - Sudan
•    Organization F - Vietnam

Note that some organizations are only traceable back to an ISP and therefore all six may not be separate organizations. Furthermore, due to grouping by IP addresses, we cannot definitively identify the organizations.

Other security vendors have reported infections in the following countries:

•    Austria
•    Hungary
•    Indonesia
•    United Kingdom
•    Iran - infections different from those observed by Symantec

Figure 2: Countries with reported Duqu infections. 

Finally, whilst all of the recovered samples are very closely related, we have recently recovered a sample that communicates with a different C&C server. All previously analyzed samples were configured to contact a server hosted in India. This particular Duqu file was configured to communicate with a server in Belgium with the IP address '77.241.93.160'. The server has since been taken offline. We appreciate the cooperation from the hosting provider in taking action immediately after being contacted.

We have shared information and samples with other security vendors so that they can verify protection accordingly.

Key updates in the Symantec whitepaper include:

•    An unpatched zero-day vulnerability is exploited through a Microsoft Word document and installs Duqu
•    Attackers can spread Duqu to computers in secure zones and control them through a peer-to-peer C&C protocol
•    Six possible organizations in eight countries have confirmed infections
•    A new C&C server (77.241.93.160) hosted in Belgium was discovered and has been shut down

We want to thank CrySyS for their continued cooperation and research.

Final Update: Microsoft has issued the following advisory and provided a workaround for the zero-day vulnerability identified as one Duqu infection vector:

Guide to Greener Electronics

International non-governmental organization well known for its works of protection and conservation of the environment - Greenpeace has released its “Guide to Greener Electronics ,” foucusing on e-waste. According to the “Guide to Greener Electronics” of the Amsterdam, Netherlands based Greenpeace, Nokia and Samsung have been ranked at top positions, while Wipro Infotech has been named as top Green Brand of India.

Wipro Infotech has been ranked among the top five green brands in the world. Scoring 5.5 out of 10 to achieve the top rank among Indian IT brands, Wipro also climbed up in the global ranking. In a statement yesterday, Wipro stated that it has been able to achieve its present ranking largely due to its comitted efforts towards “energy efficiency and structured programme for effective e-waste management for customers”.  

According to Wipro, it has been – rolling out energy star compliant products, launching ewaste management programmes, creating awareness among public, and using recycled plastics in its new productions. Wipro stated that it has been creating awareness among its customers on recycling collected e-waste rather than mere disposal. The company claimed that it has restricted the usage of pernicious substances in its products.
Greenpeace’s “Guide to Greener Electronics” has named Sony as ‘greenest’ console brands. According to the GUIDE, Sony consoles are more friendly to environment than that of Microsoft and Nintendo -- Sony products are 40 percent environmentally-friendly than Microsoft’s, while 50 percent greener that Nintendo’s products. Sony has scored 5.5 out of 10, Microsoft has scored just 2.7, while Nintendo has scored worst 0.8 in the rankings.

In its Guide to Greener Electronics, Greenpeace has stated that Nintendo has done good job by banning the use of phthalates, and monitoring its use of antimony and beryllium. Certainly, the company is "endeavouring to eliminate the use of PVC, but it has not set a timeline for its phase out". In its report, Greenpeace wrote, "The company has banned phthalates and is monitoring use of antimony and beryllium and although it is endeavoring to eliminate the use of PVC, it has not set a timeline for its phase out. Nintendo discloses carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions  from its own operations and commits to cutting CO2 emissions and other greenhouse gases by 2% over each previous year. However, Nintendo admits that an increase in business led to a 6% rise in CO2 emissions in 2006."

Greenpeace has praised Apple for reducing the use of PVCs and BFRs in its products, but Philips, according to Greenpeace, has been very impressive in the war against e-waste.

According to Greenpeace, the Guide to Greener Electronics “star” has gone to Philips and the 47,000 people who sent emails to the company. In the report, Greenpeace wrote, “The Dutch electronics giant (Philips) reacted to our e-waste campaign with a dramatic about-turn onrecycling and take-back. They've jumped from 15th to 4th place in one go. Following public pressure, the company has significantly improved its position on taking financial responsibilties for the recycling of its products when they become e-waste.

However, the companies, such as HP, Lenovo and Dell have been penalined in the Guide to Greener Electronics. According to Greenpeace, these companies have failed to keep up ther promises to eliminate vinyl plastic (PVC) and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) from their products by the end of the year. 

Greenpeace commended some of these companies’ products that are free from hazardous chemicals, yet these companies have been ranked worst for their negligence.

Microsoft rolls out Xbox TV platform that responds to voice, motion commands

. Microsoft Corp. is rolling out a new interface for its Xbox game console users. Microsoft on Sunday night said that they plans to launch their fall update for its Xbox 360 game console, complete with voice search via Xbox Kinect this week
It allows you to navigate through music, movies, TV shows and games with the wave of your hand or the sound of your voice. On December 6, a free Xbox app for Windows Phone will also be released which will let users find, learn more about and control content from popular entertainment services on Xbox LIVE.
Xbox owners with the Kinect motion controller can swipe through screens by waving their hand in the air. It also responds to direct voice commands. Windows phone users can control what to watch or hear by tapping on their portable devices. The interface will be available to Xbox users connected to the Internet via a download on Dec. 6.
This interface was first demonstrated by Steve Ballmer [CEO] in September 2011, is set up similarly to Microsoft Windows 8 operating system. Microsoft also told that "Bing on Xbox" update would arrive on US. consoles from tomorrow, and roll out to US. console owners over the coming weeks. Those without a Kinect peripheral will be able to search using Bing text search.
In the conference a MS employee demonstrated how saying clearly, “Xbox. Bing. ‘Iron Man,’ ” brought up a selection of movies, TV shows, games and soundtracks related to the title. Saying “Xbox. Show. Movies,” brought up places to rent or buy the movie, including Microsoft’s Zune store, Wal-Mart’s Vudu, Netflix. They also mentioned that "This is our vision for the future of TV” Available apps from those partners will roll out gradually over time. Other partners include the British Broadcasting Company, Hulu, Disney’s online ESPN3 service, Ultimate Fighting Championship, YouTube and cable giant Comcast Corp.’s Xfinity on-demand subscription service.

“As with any new technology that comes with the entertainment industry, it takes time,” he said. “What we have here is a start.” This is now the benchmark against which all other living room initiatives should be compared, from cable or satellite set top boxes to Apple's widely rumored TV to the 3.0 version of Google TV that Google will have to start programming as soon as they see this."

The Personal Computer Is Dead

The PC is dead. Rising numbers of mobile, lightweight, cloud-centric devices don't merely represent a change in form factor. Rather, we're seeing an unprecedented shift of power from end users and software developers on the one hand, to operating system vendors on the other—and even those who keep their PCs are being swept along. This is a little for the better, and much for the worse.

The transformation is one from product to service. The platforms we used to purchase every few years—like operating systems—have become ongoing relationships with vendors, both for end users and software developers. I wrote about this impending shift, driven by a desire for better security and more convenience, in my 2008 book The Future of the Internet—and How to Stop It.

For decades we've enjoyed a simple way for people to create software and share or sell it to others. People bought general-purpose computers—PCs, including those that say Mac. Those computers came with operating systems that took care of the basics. Anyone could write and run software for an operating system, and up popped an endless assortment of spreadsheets, word processors, instant messengers, Web browsers, e-mail, and games. That software ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous to the dangerous—and there was no referee except the user's good taste and sense, with a little help from nearby nerds or antivirus software. (This worked so long as the antivirus software was not itself malware, a phenomenon that turned out to be distressingly common.)

Choosing an OS used to mean taking a bit of a plunge: since software was anchored to it, a choice of, say, Windows over Mac meant a long-term choice between different available software collections. Even if a software developer offered versions of its wares for each OS, switching from one OS to another typically meant having to buy that software all over again.

That was one reason we ended up with a single dominant OS for over two decades. People had Windows, which made software developers want to write for Windows, which made more people want to buy Windows, which made it even more appealing to software developers, and so on. In the 1990s, both the U.S. and European governments went after Microsoft in a legendary and yet, today, easily forgettable antitrust battle. Their main complaint? That Microsoft had put a thumb on the scale in competition between its own Internet Explorer browser and its primary competitor, Netscape Navigator. Microsoft did this by telling PC makers that they had to ensure that Internet Explorer was ready and waiting on the user's Windows desktop when the user unpacked the computer and set it up, whether the PC makers wanted to or not. Netscape could still be prebundled with Windows, as far as Microsoft was concerned. Years of litigation and oceans of legal documents can thus be boiled down into an essential original sin: an OS maker had unduly favored its own applications.

When the iPhone came out in 2007, its design was far more restrictive. No outside code at all was allowed on the phone; all the software on it was Apple's. What made this unremarkable—and unobjectionable—was that it was a phone, not a computer, and most competing phones were equally locked down. We counted on computers to be open platforms—hard to think of them any other way—and understood phones as appliances, more akin to radios, TVs, and coffee machines.

The Giants joins Anti Phishing Service AGARI

Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and AOL will provide the metadata sent to the Agari, phishing attacks in order to study mode. Agari CEO Patrick Peterson said that the current and the four giant Google's cloud infrastructure cooperation, Agari about 1.5 billion per day to collect data and analyze the news.
Agari vice president of marketing, said: "Facebook can enter Agari console via e-mail access, view charts and graphs, all activities (domains and third-party solutions); For example, there is junk mail into the Yahoo mailbox to bar display viewing side will receive real-time alerts, they can build a policy push to the operator, advising them as soon as possible spam. "

Google Wallet : A High End Product from Google

Google.Inc posted an awesome video for Google Wallet featuring George Costanza. Google had sent statements to partners that it would be released Sept. 19 , the launch day. Which was considered the accurate date for public use. 

Who Can Use Google Wallet ?

Back in May when Google Wallet & offers were unveiled, Google stated that field trails for Wallet would begin immediately during this summer. While this will be the official launch, the product itself will likely still be quite limited. The only officially compatible phone is the Nexus S 4G,

Worst Shopping Policies

The Naughty & Nice Holiday List is based on input from Consumer Reports. Consumer Reports notes that the Naughty & Nice Holiday List is based on specific policies and is not reflective of a company as a whole.

Our 2011 list once again puts some very visible companies in the hot seat for fine print, befuddling fees, and the like. It gives other companies points for good behavior.

We’ve checked each policy either by direct contact or reading through the details on the company’s website. Although we cite companies by name, other players may engage in similar business practices — for better or worse. And praise or blame for a specific policy doesn’t mean we give a thumbs up or down for everything else that company does or the way it treats customers.

Nice:

• American Express. The company offers peace of mind at no extra cost. If a cardholder buys a covered item with his or her Amex card and unsuccessfully tries to return it to the merchant within 90 days, American Express can refund the full purchase price, up to $300 ($1,000 per account per year).

• Crutchfield. The electronics merchant offers help with installation, setup, troubleshooting 24/7, and tech support at no extra charge for the life of the gear purchased.

• Amazon.com. The e-tailing giant has taken a stand against wastefuland hard-to-open product packaging. It encourages customers to share photographs and feedback with manufacturers, who can then modify their package designs and submit them to Amazon’s engineers to see if they qualify as frustration-free. If so, the companies can use the “Certified Frustration-Free” logo as a marketing tool. To date, hundreds of products from companies including Philips, Garmin, and Logitech have met the criteria.

• Microsoft. If someone buys and installs software on his or her computer, most retailers won’t give out a refund, no matter how much the customer hates it. Not so with Microsoft. Consumers dissatisfied with a Microsoft software or hardware purchase from any retailer can send it back to the company within 45 days for a refund and reimbursement of shipping costs up to $7.

Naughty:

• AirTran. Imagine that you bought a shirt and were charged extra for the buttons. Ridiculous, right? But this Orlando-based airline’s discounted coach and sale-fare flights don’t include the price of the seat. If you - like most people -- want to select your seat when you book online, AirTran will charge $6 to $20 each way. Otherwise, you can show up at the gate and take your chances that you don’t get stuck with a noisy back-row seat near the lavatory.

• RadioShack. The company acknowledges that it sometimes charges different prices for the same item. When a reader shopped for an HDMI audio-video cable, the store price was nearly twice the online price. Asked why, a customer-service supervisor said he couldn’t do anything about the discrepancy, and directed the reader to the fine print on RadioShack’s website.

• American Apparel. On the plus side, the Los Angeles-based company still makes clothes in the United States. However, it has two different return policies. Online customers have 45 days to return an item for a full refund or credit; store customers have 30 days and receive a merchandise credit.

• Verizon Wireless. The company tells the Federal Communications Commission that it voluntarily provides ample warning to customers who seem about to exceed their monthly allotment of minutes, messages, or data, so a mandatory rule that would make it issue such alerts isn't necessary. But we caught Verizon doing -- and admitting to -- something else. Two staffers who are Verizon customers recently were notified only after they went over their allotment, at which time the company tried to upsell them to a pricier plan. When contacted by our reporter, a company spokesman acknowledged that its voluntary alert system isn't always reliable. But it now looks like better protection from “bill shock” is on its way. Under a mid-October deal with the FCC, members of CTIA - The Wireless Association, a trade group representing 97 percent of wireless carriers, agreed to begin issuing alerts of impending overages. Full implementation of the alert system could take until April 2013.

• Liberty Travel. Tour operators often advertise very low prices to suck in customers. But the quotes sometimes exclude high taxes and fees. Take Liberty Travel (billed as “America’s vacation experts”). It offers an eye-popping deal such as a three-night Disney vacation package, including airfare, theme park ticket, and some food, starting at $559 per person. But hold on. The 283 words of tiny type at the bottom of the ad say that the price excludes taxes and fees of up to $250, baggage fees, or other fees charged by the airline. And if someone needs to switch a flight? It’ll cost as much as $200 extra.

• The Swiss Colony. Like many businesses, the 85-year-old Wisconsin-based mail-order food firm ties its delivery fees to the dollar amount of an order rather than the size and weight of the package - a practice we’ve criticized before. Thus, if an order totals $25, shipping and processing is $5.95, but if it costs a penny more, the freight jumps to $7.95 Beyond that, The Swiss Colony asks customers to fork over another $2.99 per shipping address for unspecified reasons. So we called the company for an explanation. The customer service rep told us the surcharge reflects the cost of a mailing label.

• Southwest Airlines. For an extra $10 per flight, travelers can complete online check-in earlier than the usual 24 hours before takeoff, improve their boarding group position, snag a better seat (Southwest doesn’t assign seats; it’s first-come, first-served), and thus get their pick of available overhead bin space. It sounds benign enough. Yet, it’s another reminder that a basic ticket doesn’t buy much these days, and how price-conscious customers can get penalized if they don’t go for the upgrade.

• GameStop. A Fortune 500 company with more than 6,500 stores worldwide, this video game software and hardware merchant has a laundry list of conditions governing returns and exchanges. And in the end, GameStop proclaims, “We reserve the right to refuse any return.”