It doesnt take long to get infected.
You can click the wrong website, or the wrong link, and your infected.
The best way to protect yourself, is to use a layered approach for security.
One Antivirus.
One Firewall.
(Never heard of nvidia firewall. Could you provide a link?)Several Anti-malware programs.
(What one misses, hopefully the others will pick up.)Periodic online scans.
Antivirus, and Firewalls, are a personal choice.
There are many good, free ones, so find one that's the best for
you.
There are several to choose from in this list:
Freeware Replacements For Common Commercial AppsWhat I use for anti-spyware:
aČ freeewido - Windows 2000 and XP, only.
Ad-AwareSpybot S&DSpywareblasterSpywareGuardThese programs,
updated and
used regularly, will do a lot to keep your computer clean of spyware, trojans, keyloggers, browser hijackers, etc...
Important:Please read
this tutorial on Spybot S&D before using it. Spybot can do
SERIOUS damage, if not used properly.
Other useful Tutorials:
Using Ad-Aware SEUsing SpywareBlasterUsing SpywareGuardUsing Ewido