Links and ResourcesHere you'll find plenty of things to get you started:
Web Browsers:
Firefox- Great browser. Quick, safe, and fully customizable. Firefox is my personal browser of choice on each of my computers.
Opera- Fantastic browser. Very fast. Built-in email application. Tabbed downloads. Very intuitive browser... I can't say enough good things.
Chrome (Google)- I haven't used this one too much but it boasts quite an arsenal of nice options.
Anti-virus/malware:
Avg Free- This is what I use. It's simply, easy to install, easy to set up, allows on demand scanning, has a neat add-on for Firefox and Internet Explorer that lets you know if a link you're about to go open a harmful link. Oh and it's free!
Malwarebytes Antimalware- I can't say enough great things about this program. It's going to make me lose a lot of business but this little guy has helped me rescue many a crashed computer. If you end up with some kind of fake antivirus program like "Antivirus 2009" or "Personal Antivirus" open
Malwarbytes Antimalware and you'll be up and running in no time.