Computer Security...

So I'm going to admit first off that I have not practiced probably the most fundamental step to keeping my computer safe, which is running scheduled virus/malware scans; however, that being said, I am very cautious and smart with the preventative side. I use firefox with a lot of security add-ons from anti-keyloggers(keyscrambler) to weboftrust. I only download from secure/reputable sites(rarely even exe's). All of my passwords are different and extremely difficult(no words included, many numbers letters and for my most important accounts such as e-mail also symbols).

Somehow my steam account(online games) was hijacked, and everyone points to my own poor security. I ran a few scanners and found Hijack.StartMenu and Spyware.OnlineGames. I'm wondering what steps others take or add-ons they have to prevent any malware. Obviously routine scans are now being incorporated but I'm just kind of dumbfound as to how those two things made their way onto my computer...

FreeAVG or Avast should be enough to protect a clean machine. MalwareBytes and HiJackThis can clean just about anything. There are some great forums where generous people will examine your hijackthis log and guide you through a cleaning process.

There is no bullet proof meathod short of never going online and never installing software ever but even then there have been cases of harddrives infected while still at the factory.

Best practice imo is nightly scans and wiping once or twice a year.

superantispyware is also a good one.

between that and malwarebytes, if your malware problem isnt fixed you might as well format the hard drive and start over.

Since your machine has been compromised, you may want to completely wipe your hard drive and reinstall everything. This would be the only sure way to 'get rid of everything'. If you're using Windows there's Avira AntiVir Personal Free anti virus, as well as for free, Microsoft Security Essentials. If you have a good router, you can block all your unused ports as well as a software firewall like Zonealarm.