Keep in mind… I first installed Linux at Mandrake 7.1 (bit of digging will tell you how long ago that was) - it really did take me decades to become comfortable with it… What forced my hand was a few things, dealing with we servers remotely, writing code for them (via windows), and then android was what tipped the balance.
If I’m using a Linux like operating system in my pocket, coding for Linux remotely then what the hell am I dojng still running windows?
Install Linux, get frustrated with it, reinstall windows and live with it - repeat for over a decade until you realise the last time you installed Linux you didn’t get frustrated and have been using it for the past two years.
I just read an article about a browser… That somehow included a court case about hulk hogan being gay or not… I had to stop right there lol.
Run your own vpn, and only allow access to your services remotely if they are coming through that vpn.
Now you’ve shifted some of the security over to how secure your vpn server’s authentication is.
In modern installs you’ve got to jump through a few hoops to be able to delete system32, because normally it simply won’t let you or anything running do that.