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As a non-technical user with a newish Lenovo laptop, is there some way I can make sure I'm not affected by this?

Learn how to view a certificate in Chrome or Internet Explorer:

Then look to see if the certificate for a secured site lists Superfish:

(That doesn't prove it isn't on your computer, but it will show if it is actively intercepting your connections)

Are you using the OS that came with the laptop? Easiest way would be to reinstall Windows, DON'T do this from the recovery partition or cd.