lOCALHOST REFUSED TO CONNECT with Visual Studio Code

Question

Such a simple issue that defies an explanation; I have tried virtually everything to solve this problem. simply want to open and run HTML file with Visual Studio Code. Always get the same error. I have shutdown all security including Windows Defender and Kaspersky Total Security. Have used all tools identified such as NetStat, NetSh, etc. They show both Port 80 and Port 8080 active and listening. I have tried with 3 browsers - Edge, Chrome, Opera. all produce the same error when I key in localhost:80 or localhost:8080 in the address bar. What am I missing