Well, aren't you tired of using tools that should offer you improved security but just make your system slower ?
Well here are a few tips for you to make your Windows a bit more safer and smoother.

Step 1: Restore, restore and restore!

Create a restore point to make your pc safe. If you tweak around your computer too much without exactly knowing how, chances are you are heading for trouble. Always create a restore point so that you can restore to the point just before your system crash.

Step 2: Get a good antivirus!

Well, we all know windows isn't exactly a foolproof OS like linux but it has its plus points. So,get a good antivirus for your computer. Don't go for all the paid antivirus that are being offered. In most cases you won't even you use half of the features offered. I prefer Avast and Avira antivirus over others. Both offer a free and paid version with the paid version offering more features. If you like the free software, support them by buying a paid version.
Unlike other anti-virus software they have a large database which catches a large number of viruses that are being missed out by others.

Step 3: Backup you registry.

With tweaking all those registry entries,you might just set something off that would make your system the best crashing PC of the year. Back up your registry once in a while to protect your edits and to restore just in case. How to do it? Go to run ( winkey + r) and type regedit. Go to file>export and you are done.

Step 4: Get a good Anti-Malware software

Anti - what?. Well,if you are a windows user you must have come across malware even if you didn't know it. Well a malware includes virus,trojans and other software which steal info from your computer. There are a lot of anti-malware software out there but i recommend you use Malwarebytes' Antimalware ( because it's a great addon to other antivirus softwares) and Spybot search and destroy. Both are offered as free and have a regularly updated database.

Step 5: Firewall

It seems like a lot of software but unfortunately, there isn't a single option to do all the things you want to do. Now having a firewall is useful in layman's terms " to protect yourself from hackers and/or crackers".
Windows itself comes with a firewall. Go to Security Center in your windows and ensure that windows firewall is set to ON.
You could also do with a little more protection with softwares like Comodo or ZoneAlarm

Step 6: Encrypt your files

With Window Xp, Vista and 7 you can encrypt your files.
In Xp Professional Go to file/folder which you want to encrypt. Right Click and choose properties. Click advanced.
Here, you can set which users can access that file and to encrypt that file as well.

Step 7: Do a free scan with Microsoft's scanner and replace your Taskmanager.

Microsoft offers their own scan to check your PC for vulnerabilities. It's a free spyware scanning software which you can download from here.

Procexp is a very nice software which will enable you to see a detailed view much better than the Windows Task manager on all the running software. It also provides an option to verify a process by double clicking on a it to make sure that its the correct software and not a virus.

Step 8: Do an update

Yes, I know Windows Update does make your system sluggish sometimes but it's worth it. Every time there is a security hole, MS will release a patch as soon as they can and you should cover your bases just by doing a Windows Update.

Step 9 : Set a strong password.

In Windows, users are provided with an option to expire their password after sometime.
Enable it by going to Computer Management under Control Panel> Administrative tools and choose users and groups. Here under users, you will see a list of users and double clicking on the user will show an option to "password never expires". Uncheck the option and you can set that user account password to expire.

Step 10: Protect your PCs from USB.

Well, sad but true that most of the viruses and data theft occur either through USB devices or through the Internet. You can disable USB devices by going to Run>Regedit and then go to HLM>System>current control set >controlkey > Storage Device Policies and setting it to 1 ( if you can't see it create a new DWORD and set it to 1 )