Network security is vital to the integrity of your data and hardware. Using a router with a firewall and computer security tools is wise, but to get a better idea of what’s happening on your network, you’ll need a monitoring tool.

It might seem like the stuff of low-budget cyber thrillers, but a network monitoring tool can be effortlessly set up and put to work pinging the hardware on your network and scanning for intruders. This essentially means that you can learn right away when your devices on your network go offline (perhaps IoT or smart-home applications), and discover unauthorised connections to your router or other networked hardware. All you need is a Raspberry Pi software.