I've been doing some searching for some free programs to help keep my netbook clean and running tip top, but i'm terribly confused about alot of things. I dont know alot about computers but i do know that to keep my computer running normally i need to do regular defragmentations, clean the unused hard disk space and registry and all that jazz, and have an antivirus and firewall.
I was reading through the free software post looking for programs to do all of those things that keep my puter nice and clean. i was reading reviews on cnet and other places and alot of people said that you shouldnt have a program clean your registry for you cuz it might delete a certain file that you need and cause some of your programs to not work. so i was wondering if i should even bother with any of that stuff.
i was looking at CCleaner and it seemed like a pretty good program, lots of good reviews, but i know that vista already has its own app for that. does CCleaner do a better job than the windows version? i guess that question can be directed towards several other programs, such as windows firewall, windows defender for antispyware, windows defrag. are the windows programs sufficient or are there others that do a better job, (enough to make it worth installing on my netbook). my netbook is my only computer at the moment so i wanna take good care of it. any suggestions or comments on what are some good programs to use, IE firewall, antispyware, registry/HDD cleaners, defragers, vs the ones that i already have in windows would be appreciated.

Windows Firewall is very basic. Doesn't stop a lot.
I'd recommend either Comodo Free, or Online Armor Free, by Tall Emu as a better replacement.
Windows Defender has its uses, but I wouldn't rely solely on it : AVG8Free and Avast! are good, but you'd also need something like Lavasoft's Ad-Aware for the trojan and spyware side (which most, if not all, free AV softwares don't scan/block/remove).
Also : Only install one of each at a time : AV/Spyware. Running two of the same type tends to be counter-productive.
Above all that : Stay well away from anything that says "Norton's" and/or "Symantec". Do not let them anywhere near your system if you want to keep it running at any sort of reasonable speed.
defrag your drives regularly : once a month. I use Diskkeeper10 (which isn't free), but even the windows inbuilt defrag is better than nothing.
CCleaner isn't too bad : It does what it says on the tin, and will help keep your OS/browsers in fair working condition.
I'm very leery of so-called "registry cleaners" : most will demand a payment from you, and there are very many that are little better than malware : Especially those advertising on search results....

CCleaner does a better job than the default Windows apps. On that note, you may also want to consider MyDrefrag as well.
I'd recommend Zonealarm for a good, solid firewall.

so if i get another firewall, like ZoneAlarm, shut my windows firewall off completely and dont use it right? i have a good antivirus program (avira) but i'm still just using windows defender for antispyware stuff, i've heard good things about adaware. and what about that gamebooster program i saw in the free software post? is it worth installing?

Installing any other firewall should automatically disable the windows firewall. You can double-check through the control panel, anyway.

Yeah, you can shut down the Windows firewall via the control panel if it's not done automatically. Adaware is very good. but I find it pretty pointless now I'm using Firefox with Adblock Plus. It never has anything to find.
Gamebooster typically just does the things that the above mentioned software does (like defragging) along with shutting down various pointless background tasks.
Personally, I just prune the hell out of msconfig and make sure there's never anything booting with Windows that I don't need booting with Windows (like I/O device drivers, firewalls, AV).

ya i think i can go without the gamebooster app. i can manage to shut off useless shit myself before playing a game.