Re: Once a Techy...
I dont' get it. I surf as many bad sites as the next guy (if not more) and i test out stuff all teh time. Ofcourse, over time, things do start slowing down and I do have to rebuild the computer but that's more by choice than neccessity. Right now I just have AVG installed besides Windows Defender.
I do spend a few hours once I get a new computer to build it up exactly how i want it and ghost it so worse come to worst I'd be able to get back to that position (minus the data).
But I do agree with the "solving issues myself" kinda mindset. :)
EDIT: If I do have some software that I think has a big chance of being infected I always open it up in a snapshotted VM, so restoring would be a press of a button.