(03-12-2016, 04:25 PM)hadmatter Wrote: c) Okay, what do I need to know so I can monitor my network traffic to be able to see if anyone or anything is attempting anything dirty on my network.

https://www.wireshark.org/

We had to use this in several labs for our networking class. It's a packet sniffer that captures packets going through an interface (wired or wireless) and you can filter through the capture to see what all is going on. Catch DNS, HTTP, general TCP, DHCP, you name it.

(03-12-2016, 04:25 PM)hadmatter Wrote: ...but never really "got his hands dirty" in any majorly significant way. Now, I plan to learn as much as possible to truly have a computing environment I understand, through every niche.

Semi-similar issue here. A great way to begin is to have a home server for whatever nefarious deed to go on at the estate. Seedbox? Personal dashboard? Who knows what else?