[BC] Anti-virus/registry fix recommendations...

[Glen Kippel]

Does anyone have any suggestions for anti-malware and registry repair software?  Preferably free?
 
Twice now I'm gotten phone calls from heavily-accented people claiming to be from Microsoft, telling me that I have harmful downloads on my computer.  How would they know?  I told them to buzz off.  A few days ago I got a popup telling me that I had several harmful malware issues that needed to be corrected.  When I clicked on the button to repair these issues it asked for my credit card information and said it would take $59.95 to download the removal software.  I backed out of that but It still presented me with the warning.  I found Microsoft Security Essentials had been disabled and I couldn't access any other sites on the internet.  Finally I rebooted into Safe Mode and went to my last system restore point to return to normalcy. 
 
This was like being mugged via computer!
 
So, what will work to keep me from being hijacked again?