Cybercriminals have become smarter and their malicious programs more sophisticated.
How can we protect ourselves from them or remove them if we get infected by one?
The easiest way would be to use anadware removal tool, but theres much more to it than that.

Using one Antivirus and one Anti-Malware wont cause any damage to your PC.
Using two Antivirus or two Anti-Malware programs could create interference.
If you cant get a premium/paid option at least get a free one.

Its always better than having nothing at all.
Stay Away from Freeware
We all love free stuff.
Nothing wrong with it and the same goes for free programs.

However, free programs with a shady background are nothing to laugh about.
In worst case scenario, these bundled programs will be malicious.
Which is ultimately why you should stay away from freeware.
Dont get me wrong, legitimate freeware is absolutely safe.
Like VLC, Discord, Google Chrome, Firefox, Media Monkey, only to mention some of them.
There are numerous free programs to choose from.
Just stay away from the shady ones.
Youve got to stay alert and think before you act.
Received an email which talks about an invoice while you didnt order anything?
Maybe you shouldnt fire up the attachment then, it could be malware.
Did someone call you from Microsoft tech support to help you with malware removal?
Since when does Microsoft call people and how did their support realize that youre infected?
Furthermore, why didnt Windows Defender work as its supposed to?
Check your web client Plugins
Some malicious programs which target browsers do get installed in the form of plugins.
So, do take a look at your plugins every now and then to ensure that everything is fine.
Do you know why that happened?
People wouldnt install security patches in time which resulted in numerous malware infections.
Thats how Windows came to be known as one of the worst Operating Systems in terms of security.
And all Im trying to say is to keep your box updated.
It can seriously save you from lots of trouble.
Take the WannaCry Ransomware as an example.
It utilized a security exploit which was originally found by the NSA.
Relax
I know that all of this information is a bit too much to take in at once.
But, theres no need to get paranoid with security.
Dont restrict yourself too much from browsing the web just because its dangerous.
Just follow the tips which I mentioned above and you should be good to go.
And as a side note, do keep on informing yourself on security issues.
The more that you know about this subject, the more comfortable that youll get with using your rig.