All experienced Windows user have a curated list of software. If you download shady apps, sure, good chance of getting infected. But Chrome, Firefox, TotalCommander, 7-zip, Sublime, etc., etc. are all free, mature and malware free.

It may not be as conceptually easy as Arch Linux but on the other hand you get access to Windows-only stuff which has its benefits.

And almost any Linux user should be able to create that curated list within 6 months, IMO. If they aren't, then I doubt even their Linux chops...