Network Security Basics - Are you doing these things?

A beginner-friendly overview of basic network security practices for home users. Covers scanning external ports with GRC ShieldsUP, inspecting active connections and listening ports using TCPView on Windows and ss/netstat/lsof on Linux, reducing attack surface by disabling SSH/VNC/RDP when not needed, choosing better routers (Ubiquiti UniFi or pfSense over ISP-provided hardware), configuring software firewalls (UFW on Linux, Windows Firewall or SimpleWall on Windows), and debunking VPN myths while clarifying their actual use cases. Emphasizes that security is an ongoing process, not a one-time fix.