[jewbear34]

How do you know if you're not infected in the first place. With any kind of malware or anything malicious.  New to computers and want to focus on safety before going further.

[Bleeping]

If you happen to get infected with any kind of malicious software (Malware), you'll normally notice the following things:

• System slowdown & crashes
  
• Storage space running low
  
• Pop-ups in browsers and applications
  
• Battery life draining more quickly than normal (laptop)
  
• Security programs won't run or abruptly stop without consent
  
• Unusual error messages
  

Since you're new to computers and such I suggest reading some of the articles that BleepingComputer has to offer.