I’m on my second PC in fifteen years.
My first Dell started out with windows 3.1, upgraded to 98, upgraded again to Windows XP. The little trooper ran pretty much 24/7 for over 10 years. Never had a single problem with it. Added some RAM and storage space to it a couple of times, but no software problems.
Second Dell is now a couple years old and has been just as reliable, so far, started out with Windows XP and now upgraded to 7.
I always had/have some kind of antivirus, some paid for, some free, set it to automatically update both the programs and the antivirus, and it was virtually invisible and maintenance free.
I have gotten exactly one virus in life, and it was my fault for clicking it. No software can protect a person who is dead set on installing a virus. :) Never have trouble with spyware or malware either. No check has ever found any. Not sure where people get that stuff, but I don’t get it where I go... and I’m on the internet ALL DAY.
Punch line. It works pretty good, and it’s just not all that hard to keep a computer running Windows running good. Don’t try to dink with it all the time, keep it updated, and maybe stay away from porn sites, and it works really really well. :~)
And stay away from freeware.
I suspect most of the problems with crashes and malware comes from freeware people install. Including, btw, free antivirus tools.
Don’t try to get by on the cheap installing free crap someone wrote in their basement and funded with adware, and most people will be fine. :~)