Guess it's my turn to stand on the soapbox ( a.k.a T L : D R )
What you need to have is just the simplest program ever been owned and installed since the XP days:
Common Sense v1.0
1)
Always be vigilant -- with your gear ( desktop/laptop/tablet ) and make sure only essential programs are running constantly (
for example: now why does one need a PDF reader to automatically check for updates? ) Routinely check all your programs; only the most important ones that involve security should be automatic -- not second-based programs; regardless if one has free or paid variants of AV/AM (
Anti-Virus / Anti-Malware ) programs,
it's still up to the user to make sure that his/her machine is up-to-date -- not just in security updates, but to manually check as well as all the components that make up their computer (
that means your other programs have, and must be always up-to-date -- from your PDF readers, media players, etc -- don't just depend on automatic updating for all your programs, you just got to do everything yourself because it's your machine -- your gear )
2)
Don't click on impulse -- really! Read everything carefully, and try to listen to a voice in your head that's just trying to shout
"IT'S A TRAP!" Often infections happen when people just click without reading (
like when you install a program, you'd never expect it'll install a toolbar or plugin just because you just quickly clicked on the OK button )
3)
Give time for yourself -- and I do mean: maintenance -- dedicate time for your gear to scan entirely without anything bothering it; full wide scan with heuristics, one program scan at a time, and nothing else running in the background (
close your browser, turn off the internet connection, no media players, not even a Notepad open ) then when all's done, do a daily clean-up with system cleaners like CCleaner, and a monthly defraging of your HDD ( twice a month is max, or you'd end up wearing your your HDD -- but if you own a SSD, don't defrag anymore! )
Infections don't happen just because you didn't have a paid or a better free version of some program...
...they weren't careful and vigilant enough