Microsoft, Lenovo and other software makers have been working overtime in an effort to eradicate the Superfish adware. The good news is that since the Redmond-based company first got involved, the number of Lenovo machines detecting the vulnerable version of Superfish have dropped dramatically.

Microsoft joined the fight by adding automatic detection of the vulnerable version of Superfish (not all versions are dangerous - just those found on Lenovo machines) to its real-time detection products (think Microsoft Security and Windows Defender).

As the chart above shows, Superfish was detected on just shy of 50,000 machines on February 20. The number peaked at around 60,000 a day later but since that time, infections have been on the decline - dipping heavily on February 24 and February 25.

While Microsoft hasn't given a specific number as to how many infections they've cleared up, the graphic suggests it's probably somewhere in the 250,000 range.

Of course, Microsoft didn't take on Superfish on its own. Lenovo ended up releasing its own Superfish removal tool, as did McAfee. Users could also tackle Superfish on their own if they felt so inclined. All things considered, the number of infections was probably much higher than 250,000 but only Lenovo would know for certain.

Superfish is yet another example of why major PC makers need to steer clear of bloatware. Sure, you're making a few extra bucks by signing distribution deals with software makers but is it really worth trashing your reputation over?