Using good backup software such as Acronis True Image (not free) is also a good technique to exactly restore your computer to the way it was on a previous date rather than using Windows pseudo “restore” function. If you restore your hard drive to a previous date using Acronis, your hard drive will have on it everything exactly as it was on that previous date AND absolutely NOTHING ELSE. This means that if your computer starts malfunctioning for any Windows operating system or software reason (including the presence of viruses and malware), when you restore your computer, all that will be gone completely and your computer will be just as it was (EXACTLY) on the date to which you restore it. In addition, using Acronis you can setup a segment on your hard drive called the “Acronis Secure Zone” within which you may make your backups and from which your may restore your computer. (Defragment your hard drive thoroughly before setting up the Acronis Secure Zone.) The Acronis Secure Zone is invisible to the Windows operating system and most programs, viruses, and malware—so it is essentially impossible for the Acronis Secure Zone to become infected by any malware.
Acronis True Image is probably among the easiest of the disk imaging programs to use, but for the computer beginner, it may take some time to learn how to use. If you make the choice to use it, it will also be to your advantage if you have a large secondary internal hard drive on which to perform the backups. The reason I say internal hard drive is that both the backup and restore function will normally take place much faster that way.
You may also wish to consider a free disk imaging program called Paragon Backup & Recover. I use it because it has a few additional capabilities, and the version that I am suggesting is free. However, it is a little harder to use. You can read about it and download it at this link.