Want a malware free computer?

Spyware of all types can degrade performance significantly. Two programs I'm recommending here are some of the free ways to keep your PC Spyware and Malware free, that work alongside AntiVirus programs.
Spybot - Search & Destroy
Spybot Search & Destroy is an easy to use program that will scan your PC for Spyware, and will generally delete what's found to be malicious.



MalwareByte's Anti-Malware
A phenomenal anti-spyware utility that's small, light, and effective. It's far more capable than many other non-free alternatives in the market. The only reason I'm keeping Spybot-S&D up is because it seems to have better detection of some older malicious programs, which still may pose a threat.
Malwarebyte's Anti-Malware

HijackThis
HijackThis is a program that scans your PC for everything.. literally. It'll show all your running processes, startup items, etc. This program is generally used to eliminate severe cases of Malware, that Spybot S&D can't delete alone.
The best way to use this is to do a scan, and PM the log file to someone with extensive computer knowledge for examination.