
Advance your beginner cybersecurity journey with hands-on lessons on networking commands, firewalls, VPNs, IAM, privacy tools, cloud security, and Windows 11 hardening.
Explain how http defines web requests and how https encrypts data with tls or ssl. Note ssl certificates, expiry checks, and free Let's Encrypt options that boost seo.
Compare hubs, switches, and routers to understand network roles; hubs broadcast to all devices, while switches use mac addresses and routers use ip addresses to route data and protect networks.
Explore how firewalls monitor and control network traffic with rules based on IP addresses, ports, protocols, and applications, safeguarding private networks from unauthorized access.
Demonstrates how Windows Defender Firewall uses inbound and outbound rules across domain, private, and public profiles, with logging and monitoring settings.
The lecture demonstrates creating a sample outbound rule in windows 10 firewall to block Google Chrome by targeting the Chrome program path and applying it to all profiles.
Explore how network address translation enables many devices to share a public ip address, distinguish private vs public addresses, and understand nat types and security considerations.
Explore network segmentation and vlans to isolate and restrict access, improve performance, and simplify management, with practical examples of office vlans, guest wifi, and IoT isolation.
Explore how the domain name system translates domain names to IP addresses using a hierarchical network of root and top-level servers, with ISP caching for faster access.
Explore common networking tools such as ping, tracert, nslookup, reverse dns, and whois to test connectivity, trace routes, and reveal ip addresses and hosting details.
Examine email basics, security concerns, and how IMAP and POP receive mail while SMTP sends, with DNS resolving IP addresses and encrypted ports.
Explore security controls across technical, operational, and managerial categories that protect confidentiality, integrity, availability, and non-repudiation, detailing logical controls like firewalls and access control, and people-driven measures such as training.
Explore privacy, anonymity, and pseudonymity, and learn how you control who accesses your information and what they can do with it, with examples like encrypted mail and VPN.
Describe identity compartmentalization as dividing online activities into separate personal, professional, pseudonymous, and anonymous identities with distinct accounts, devices, and networks to reduce linkability and thwart data brokers.
Explore how search engines, social media, and apps track you to build interest profiles. Learn privacy tips like using DuckDuckGo or Startpage, disabling shadow profiles, opt-out services, and VPNs.
Explore proxy servers as intermediaries that hide your IP to bypass restrictions and censorship, while noting speed trade-offs, lack of encryption, and options like Hide Star, Hide.me, and proxy site.com.
Explore the types of vpn and how they shield your ip, with demos of Nordvpn, Tunnelbear, Cyberghost, and Pure VPN, plus essential security and privacy settings.
Debunks major vpn myths by comparing paid vs free vpn data, speed, and encryption, clarifies that vpns do not guarantee anonymity or security, and notes setup ease and platform differences.
Discover Tor, a leading anonymity tool, download the Tor browser, and learn its multi-node routing, vpn comparison, and safety cautions about torrents and plugins.
Tor bears weaknesses: users may be labeled extremists or persons of interest, and authorities continually try to undermine it. It is complex to use and often blocked by many sites.
Explore end to end correlation attacks on Tor, noting the entry and exit nodes, encryption, and why https or ssl helps mitigate exposure.
Demonstrate accessing the dark web with a VPN and Tor browser set to safest, show deep web links, and emphasize educational purposes while outlining protective steps for users.
Combine Tor and vpn to enhance privacy and anonymity, compare Tor through vpn against vpn through Tor, and weigh speed, isp visibility, and protection from malicious exit nodes.
Understand business email compromise, a targeted phishing attack that impersonates executives or suppliers through reconnaissance, spoofing, social engineering, and execution to steal funds or data.
Explore sim swap attacks, how attackers hijack victim numbers to intercept two-factor authentication, and practical defenses like authenticator apps and carrier pin codes.
Drive-by downloads occur when visiting a compromised site triggers malicious code that scans your browser and OS for vulnerabilities and delivers ransomware or a keylogger via malvertising.
Learn how deepfake scams fooled a multinational's chief financial officer, leading to a $25 million transfer, and how multi-person approvals and verification can prevent such attacks.
Explore zero trust that rejects implicit trust, verifies identity and device health, enforces least privilege with just-in-time access, and uses continuous monitoring, IAM, MFA, micro-segmentation, and encryption everywhere.
Threat intelligence and threat hunting empower proactive defense by understanding threats and adversaries, actively searching for hidden threats, and feeding a symbiotic loop of IOCs and tactics for faster response.
Explore how security compliance frameworks such as NIST, GDPR, ISO 27001, PCI DSS, HIPAA, and SOC 2 shape risk management and minimum security standards.
Learn how AI powered security detects anomalies, insider threats, lateral movements, and malware by analyzing file and network traffic, phishing with natural language processing, and behavioral biometrics. See AI action.
Discover how to use ChatGPT to analyze security incident reports, identify trends and attack types, reveal the most targeted systems and recurring IP addresses, and generate mitigation recommendations.
Explore the four cloud deployment types: public, private, hybrid, and multi, and how they influence cost, scalability, security, data sovereignty, and management across models.
Identify cloud security risks such as misconfigurations, account hijacking, phishing, ransomware, and API exploits, then apply encryption, multifactor authentication, least privilege, backups, regular audits, and understand shared responsibility.
Encrypt disks, partitions, or folders to turn plain text into cipher text. Decrypt with a key to restore the plain text and protect against theft.
Explore how patching and updates work in Windows 11, including get the latest updates as soon as they are available, optional driver updates, and using active hours to manage restarts.
Learn to enable Windows 11's controlled folder access to prevent unknown apps from altering protected folders, configure protected folders, and safeguard documents, pictures, and private work files.
Learn to protect privacy by turning off voice features, disabling optional diagnostic data, reviewing mandatory data collection, considering the delete diagnostic data option, and adjusting feedback frequency.
Manage app permissions for location, camera, and microphone; review which apps can access each, turn off unused permissions, and adjust settings to suit your usage.
Enable all three Windows 11 firewalls—domain, private, and public—under Windows Security, and configure dynamic lock by pairing with a mobile device to auto-lock when away; use a pin for sign-in.
Conclude part two of the absolute beginners guide to cybersecurity 2025 and thank learners for joining, while inviting reviews and exploration of more courses on the lab Uscybercom platform.
** PART 2 OF THE CYBER SECURITY GUIDE FOR BEGINNERS SERIES **
Take your basic knowledge of cyber security to a whole new level with this exciting course that promises to be educational, informative and fun filled.
Build upon a basic foundation in Cyber Security with a strong focus on the following core topics.
Networking
Privacy & Anonymity
Malware
Email Security
Backups & Encryption
Windows 10 Hardening
What are the main benefits of taking this course?
I am glad you asked. This course has been designed to provide you with the knowledge and tools to not only better protect yourself against malware but to also prepare you for a career in the cyber security field if you so wish.
You will learn all the latest techniques used in the world of cyber security today and understand how a lot security technologies work behind the scenes.
In this course you will learn the following practical skills
How to use a proxy server
How to setup and use a virtual private network
How to use Tor to access the dark web anonymously
Best practices to browse the internet securely and privately
How to set up a firewall
How to use a rootkit scanner
How to encrypt your emails
How to track emails you have sent and also how to detect if you are being tracked
How to use 3 major anti-malware software products
How to completely harden the Windows 10 operating system
How to backup and encrypt your hard drive
How to choose the right anti virus
and much much much more
You will also learn how to use a wide variety of software to improve your security game and these include:
Virtual Private Networks
Kaspersky Antivirus
Bitlocker
Proxy servers
Bleachbit
Tor
CCleaner
Protonmail
Duckduck go
Brave Browser
Ugly Email
Mail Tracker
Nord VPN
GMER Rootkit scanner
Secure Boot
Veracrypt
Filevault
Guerrilla Mail
Comodo Firewall
Lastpass
Jobs in Cyber security are plentiful and this course will help prepare you for entry level roles by providing you with a solid set of skills to build up on.
* PERFECT FOR BEGINNERS *
You don't need to have a background in cyber security though any sort of prior knowledge would be beneficial. This course is designed in such a manner that as long as you know how to use a computer and the internet, you will be able to understand and apply everything you are taught.
Content and Overview Suitable for non professionals and students with a basic understanding of cyber security. In this course of nearly 100 lectures and almost 7 hours of content, you’ll learn all of the core cyber security fundamentals and develop a strong understanding of how security and privacy can either be maintained or deprived from a user. Each chapter closes with a section review highlighting the core points raised in the section.
Starting with Networking 101, you will learn the basics of networking including what the TCP/IP protocol suite is and how the domain name system works.
With the basics of networking mastered, you will be ready to jump into the course proper with the following section where you will begin to learn about privacy and anonymity. You will learn how advertisers and websites are able to track you online and what you can do about it.
You will then move on to a more advanced section where you will be introduced to Anonymizers. You will learn how to work with proxy servers and how to setup and configure a Virtual Private Network. We will also explore how to use Tor to access the dark web as well as the pros and cons of using anonymizers. By the end of this section, you would have learned techniques and skills that you can use to secure your privacy online.
Section 5 covers malware with a special focus on viruses, rootkits and ransomware. You will learn how these various forms of malware can affect you plus you will also be introduced to a variety of anti-malware software that you can use to fight against malware.
We will then move to discuss about backups and encryption. You will learn about cloud backups as well the advantages and disadvantages of using this type of technology. I will then show you how you can back up and encrypt your hard drive and sensitive files.
Section 7 covers one of the most interesting aspects of cyber security - Social Engineering. You will learn about the different tactics employed by social engineers to extract important information without using any technical skills. We will explore how hackers exploit human psychology and fool their targets.
Email security will be covered in the very next section. Emails are a fundamental component of our daily lives and you will learn exactly how emails are sent and received behind the scenes. You will learn how to track emails and how to use mail services like guerrilla mail and proton mail.
In the final section of the course, you will learn how to harden the Windows 10 operating system against malware. Windows 10 by default is vulnerable to malware but with a few adjustments, you can make it far more secure and you will learn this tricks in this section.
Complete with resources and section reviews, you’ll be able to apply what you have learnt in this course either at home or at your place of work and will receive a verifiable certificate of completion upon finishing the course.
Take control of your privacy and security - Enroll Today in one of the very best cyber security courses you will find online.