Did I just screw up my computer or is it a coincidence...?

that it is running super s-l-o-w, AFTER I put vrus protection on it? My trial virus protection ran out some time ago, and although my pc seemed to be working fine for the most part, I decided to download some free anti virus software. I used Avast, and it prompted me to download a registry cleaner as well, so I did.

Well...... after the registry cleaner scanned and fixed 20 errors, it asked if I wanted to purchase and I opted not to and just put the Avast on. Also I removed some of my un-used programs just to clean up my desk top a bit. Well that was a few days ago, and suddenly my pc seems to have slowed down ALOT. Web pages take forever to load. Also I can't get any videos to play for more than a few seconds. (I watch all my fav shows online at abc.com and mtv.com and such)

Anyway, what could be the problem? Could there be a problem with my internet connection or could it be from one of these AV programs I downloaded or what?

Did I just screw up my computer or is it a coincidence...?internet

did you delete the old av, if not try that. if that doesnt work delete avast and try avg its free and doesnt slow up your computer.

and get rid of that reg cleaner - that might be doing it

Did I just screw up my computer or is it a coincidence...?network

Press Ctl+Alt+Delete and find out what processes are running, you might find why it's so slow that way.
First of all, I don't use Avast so I can't tell you how to go about setting it up. BUT, there's a good chance that it is downloading updates in the background and slowing things down. Even worse, it may be doing an actual virus scan in the background which can really slow things down.