The worst computers for bloatware: Here's everything we found on retail machines

The blizzard of bloatware we found on PCs at Best Buy is just a snapshot in time of the products we examined in the store. However, it should give you an idea of how much bloatware you're likely find on retail machines.

We sampled several machines at a local Best Buy, where we could examine the included software in person. (Any links to Best Buy were active and working at press time.) Note that some of the laptops sold at a retailer like Best Buy are exclusive to the store—sometimes called out using a “BB” designation—even though they many be almost but not quite identical to models sold by other stores like Amazon. This tactic enables the retailer to avoid price matching, since other stores won’t offer an identical product.

Where we could, we listed every app that Windows included in the Windows 8 Start page. In certain cases, apps may be bundled together in a suite of utilities; we still noted them as separate apps, as Windows did.

Also take note of the Retail Processor App from Intel and the Productivity with Windows app from Microsoft: From what we could see, these apps are loaded onto floor models and used to extol the virtues of Windows and Intel’s own processors. They probably won't be loaded onto the products that you buy.

We excluded Microsoft’s native Windows apps, such as Paint. In some cases, Microsoft also bundles trial versions of Microsoft Office or Office 365; you’ll have to decide whether those are bloatware or not.

Laptops

$699.99 Toshiba Radius 2-in-1 15.6-inch laptop (P55W-B5220)

Apps installed:

1. Wild Tangent Games
2. Amazon
3. Book Place by Toshiba
4. Deals & Offers by Toshiba
5. eBay
6. Evernote Touch
7. Hulu Plus
8. iHeart Radio
9. Netflix
10. Next Issue Magazines
11. Norton Studio
12. Retail Processor App/Productivity with Windows
13. Smart Audio
14. Software Updates
15. Toshiba Central
16. Toshiba Favorites
17. Toshiba Media Player by SMedia
18. Toshiba Registration
19. Toshiba Start

$799.99 Asus 2-in-1 15.6-inch laptop (Q502LA-BBI5T12)

Apps installed:

1. WildTangent Games
2. Asus Photo Director
3. Asus Power Director
4. Asus Web Storage
5. Audio Wizard
6. Line
7. MusicMaker Jam
8. Netflix
9. Productivity with Windows/Retail Processor App
10. Asus FlipLock
11. Asus Install
12. Asus Live Update
13. Asus On Screen Display
14. Asus eManual
15. Splendid Utility
16. USB Charger Plus
17. WebStorage
18. CyberLink Media Story
19. Dragon Assistant by Nuance

$679 Dell Inspiron 15.6-inch laptop (I7547-3020SLV)

Apps installed:

1. Adobe Revel
2. Amazon
3. Dell Shop
4. eBay
5. Kindle
6. McAfee Central
7. McAfee LiveSafe
8. Microsoft Office 
9. Retail Processor App
10. Dell Backup and Recovery
11. Dell Digital Delivery Manager
12. Dell Power Manager Lite
13. My Dell
14. PC Checkup
15. Dell Audio
16. True Color

$449.99 HP Split X2 13.3-inch two-in-one (13-r100dx)

Apps installed:

1. McAfee LiveSafe
2. 7-Zip
3. Classic Board Games
4. CyberLink PhotoDirector
5. CyberLink PowerDirector
6. CyberLink YouCam
7. Disney Fairies Hidden Treasures
8. Evernote
9. Getting Started with Windows 8
10. Kindle for Windows 8
11. Ludo
12. Microsoft Games
13. Netflix
14. Pinger
15. Skype
16. JigsWar
17. Wheel of Fortune
18. HP Connected Drive
19. HP Connected Photo
20. HP ePrint
21. HP Games by WildTangent
22. HP Recovery Manager
23. HP SimplePass
24. HP Support Assistant
25. HP Utility Center

$599 Hewlett-Packard Envy TouchSmart 15.6-inch notebook (M6-N113DX)

Apps installed:

1. WildTangent Games
2. Amazon
3. Dragon Naturally Speaking by Nuance
4. Farmville 2
5. HP Connected Drive
6. HP Connected Music
7. HP Connected Photo
8. McAfee Central
9. Microsoft Mahjong
10. Netflix
11. Productivity with Windows/Retail Processor App
12. Software Updates
13. CyberLink YouCam 6
14. Pinger
15. HP PowerStation
16. HP Recovery Manager
17. HP Recovery Media Creation
18. HP Support Assistant
19. Beats Audio
20. CyberLink Media Suite
21. CyberLink Media Espresso
22. CyberLink Photo Director
23. CyberLink PowerDirector
24. CyberLink Power2Go
25. Snapfish
26. 7Zip
27. Evernote
28. HP Utility Center
29. ISO Viewer
30. Virtual Drive
31. HP SimplePass
32. McAfee LiveSafe

Best Buy also includes the option to download a free game from AMD’s Web site as well as a year’s subscription for Webroot Secure Anywhere.

$349.99 Lenovo 15.6-inch laptop (G50 - 80E3016QUS)

Apps installed:

1. Amazon
2. BTServer
3. Lenovo Companion
4. DailyMotion
5. Evernote Touch
6. Free Online Games for Lenovo
7. Kindle
8. McAfee Central
9. Nitro Pro 9
10. Phone Companion
11. PowerDVD for Lenovo
12. Skype
13. The Telegraph for Lenovo
14. The Weather Channel for Lenovo
15. TripAdvisor
16. Zinio Reader
17. AMD Catalyst
18. CyberLink Power2Go
19. Desktop Burning Gadget
20. ISO Viewer
21. Virtual Drive
22. PowerDirector
23. Dolby Digital Plus
24. Lenovo Energy Manager
25. Lenovo Messenger
26. Lenovo PowerDVD
27. Lenovo Updates
28. Lenovo Veriface
29. Lenovo One Key Recovery
30. Lenovo ShareIt
31. Lenovo PhotoMaster
32. Lenovo Reach
33. Maxthon Cloud Browser
34. McAfee LiveSafe

Best Buy also includes a downloadable one-year subscription to Trend Micro’s Titanium Internet Security.

$1,049.99 Lenovo Yoga 2 13.3-inch laptop (59418309)

Apps installed:

1. Accuweather
2. Lenovo Companion
3. eBay
4. Evernote Touch
5. Hightail for Lenovo
6. Intel Experience Center
7. Amazon Kindle
8. Lenovo Support
9. LiveTV
10. McAfee Central
11. Nitro Pro 8
12. Rara Music with Lenovo
13. Lenovo Smart Voice
14. Yoga Cameraman
15. Yoga Chef
16. Yoga Phone Companion
17. Yoga Photo Touch
18. Yoga Picks
19. Zinio Reader
20. Lenovo Energy Manager
21. Lenovo Motion Control
22. Lenovo Smart Voice
23. Lenovo Transition
24. Lenovo Veriface
25. Lenovo One Key Recording
26. Lenovo User Guide
27. McAfee Live Safe
28. Nuance Dragon Assistant
29. RealTek HD Audio Manager

Tablets

$269 Asus Transformer Pad T100 (T100TAF-B11-GR)

Apps installed:

1. Asus PhotoDirector
2. Asus PowerDirector Mobile
3. Flipboard
4. Line
5. Netflix
6. Asus LiveUpdate
7. Asus OnScreen Display
8. Asus Screen Saver
9. Asus eManual
10. Asus WebStorage
11. Asus WinFlash

$190 Unbranded tablet (UB-15MS10SA)

Apps installed:

None

$244.99 Toshiba Encore 2 10-inch (WT10-A32)

Apps installed:

1. Amazon
2. eBay
3. Amazon Kindle
4. Netflix
5. Toshiba Control
6. Toshiba Favorites
7. Toshiba Registration
8. Toshiba Start
9. Toshiba Travel Place
10. Toshiba TruCapture
11. Norton Internet Security
12. Dolby Digital Plus