Registry Keys - Please help novice user

Hi there,
I have just found this site and it is very interesting but it is quite complicated for the novice user. I am sorry if this question is in the wrong section but I am not sure where I am supposed to post it.
I have read all the sections on spyware, malware and viruses and have downloaded most of the things that have been suggested.
I am having problems with registry keys. When I did a free scan by Toniarts it said I had hundred of registry keys that were infected but it did not tell me whether I should delete them or what to do with them and it said it might harm my p.c. if I deleted ones that I needed.
I then went to site where you had to pay for the registry clean up but again it said to back the files up and then clean them but I am still not sure what I am supposed to be doing and I do want to harm my p.c. by doing something I should not do.
Please can somebody suggest a very simple download site where it says what I should do and which keys or files or whatever should be removed.
What do I do with the files I have already backed up. Do I get rid of these or just leave them there.
Please would somebody help me as I am not really sure what I should do but I have hundreds of registry keys or registry entries which are no longer valid or partly deleted and this is slowing down my p.c.
Thank you very much for reading this meassage and thanks for replying to me.
cheers

 

Hi and welcome to MajorGeeks.

Most of the tools you need are free, and some are linked in the Spyware Forum.

However, when working in the Registry, extreme caution must be exercised as it can break your operating system.

Before deleting anything, right-click the Registry folder you are working on, then select Export.

You can call it anything you want (I love Insomniac is good), as long as it has a .reg extension.

Just keep it on your desktop, then if you have a problem, boot in Safe Mode and double-click on it and it will re-enter the keys.

Once your computer is stable, then you can just simply delete these backups, but you must be certain and allow enough time.

A good Registry cleaner is REGSEEKER.

Any decent program always creates a backup. With Regseeker, only delete the green items.

Any red items should generally be left alone and added to the exclusion list, unless you are sure it's not required.

CCleaner is another handy freeware application.