Haha!
AVG Free user here for the last six years, zero infections. Seen many, many machines running various Symantec and McAfee products loaded with viruses and malware. Infections depend mostly on the user's habits and whether or not they keep up to date and actually run any scans.
Best free software to run on a PC? Here's a list of the best I've used:
Anti-virus - AVG Free, Avira is not necessarily a bad choice as long as you 'practice safe computer' (update and scan regularly, don't visit warez/online poker sites or weird e-mail links).
Anti-spyware/malware - Spybot Search and Destroy, found here:
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html
This software will actually blacklist known malware sites in IE and Firefox (I don't use Chrome or Safari, but it may immunize them as well) for added browsing protection. Also has features such as removal/disabling of BHO and ActiveX objects, and secure deletion.
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, found here: http://www.malwarebytes.org/
Can help find and remove the nasties.
SuperAntiSpyware, found here: http://www.superantispyware.com/
In my experience the most thorough anti-spyware/malware solution out there, however the free version allows scanning only, not real time protection.
Cleanup - Definitely CCleaner (Crap Cleaner), found here: http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner.
Allows manipulation of startup items, the install/uninstall programs list, and a couple other tools. Very handy for removing leftover registry entries from programs with sloppy uninstallers (Antivirus software makers and Microsoft, I'm looking at you.)
Defrag - Auslogics Disk Defrag, found here:
http://download.cnet.com/Auslogics-Disk-Defrag/3000-2094_4-10567503.html
The cool thing about this program is that it can automatically exclude SSDs if you're using one, and it also allows the placement of system files at the beginning of the drive, allowing for faster boot times.
If you're using Firefox, which I recommend over all other browsers, be sure to install the add-ons NoScript and AdBlock Plus. Also visit this website:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1299854/posts
for a quick guide to improve download speeds and rendering times for that browser.
There are many other things that you can do to speed up the performance of your machine w/o installing any software at all. The number one thing would be to disable unneeded startup programs, like java/adobe updaters, IM clients, etc. Also disabling or uninstalling any kind of browser helper items like toolbars and additional search features will improve browsing speed.
Specifically, I completely disable the System Restore feature on all versions of Windows, disable indexing on all drives, disable the 'Windows Search' startup item and system process, disable or remove Windows Defender, disable executive paging (writing system files that are in memory to the disk), which is described by Microsoft here:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc757875%28v=ws.10%29.aspx
If you're running a 64-bit OS with 8GB RAM or more, you can also safely disable the system PageFile all together (Workstation/CAD/heavy PhotoShop users excluded).
On the internet connection side, you can really stand to gain a lot out of whatever connection you've got (cable/dsl/fiber/satellite), by using TCPOptimizer from here: http://www.speedguide.net/
Finally, updating chipset, video, and networking drivers can yield an improvement as well, especially chipset and video. Drivers from Intel, AMD, Nvidia, Realtek, Marvell, and Broadcom can all be found on their respective sites.
Hope this helps, feel free to hit me with any questions you might have!
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram