netgear and network security

[andygodwin]

hi all
i'm running 3 macs in my house using ethanet and a netgear router, which also has wireless (not used because i have no wireless cards).
now.. i was looking at my network to get something from the other mac when i spotted 2 odd folders in the network pane, i navigated to these and connected to a differnt server just using guest, and had access to some rather boring photos..
this has thrown up the scarey issue that i dont really know what i'm doing regarding networking and security,, did this other person have access to my HD?? i guessed that as my airport config was open it was just a neighbour surfing on my connection, i have now changed my netgear panal so that the airport config needs a password.
any ideas about what was going on....and

1. in my sys pref should i have firewall on/off? filesharing on/off.
2. how do i get rid of the rogue folders in the network pane? (see attached) i "dont have permission" to delete them.
3. can whoever was on my system log onto my bank account using my IE cookies or certificates??
4. what other basic measures should i take ?


regards (and slightly worried)

andy

 

[billbaloney]

This is most likely what happened:

1. A user connected to your unprotected wireless network for internet access.
2. You turned some kind of password protection/encryption on for your wireless network.
3. The user got kicked off.

You'll still see pointers to the unknown user's machine in your "Network" area, because pointers remain there regardless of whether the machine is currently on the network.

Since you don't use your wireless network at all, you should just disable it in your Netgear admin.

Regarding services and sharing: in general, you should keep off whatever you don't use. This is true of personal file sharing in your Sharing preference pane, your wireless network, etc.