someone in my shared folder?? please help

I really need your help here..I moved from xp to mac recently and got my new mac which i 've been using for the last few weeks. I've wireless connection at home... i noticed in my Finder on the left side a Shared folder and someone called Thompson who has a PC .. What does that mean??...is he using my wireless.. i've a secured network??..can that be overcome on a mac laptop...??
is he able to hack/ view my files?? I am worried about this intrusion...

Can you help me identify what this means and what are the consequences and how to rectify it..??

Thank you

joe

Give us a picture.

It may be that what you're seeing is his unsecured network.

You're probably OK, it's the guy named Thompson who may be at risk. He more than likely has sharing turned on in his PC, perhaps for a home network. If you go to Network preferences in System Preferences and bring up Airport settings, you can tell if he's broadcasting in the clear or not. He may be a neighbor close by. It's common especially if you live in an apartment complex or close housing.

As long as you're using a secure wireless connection you should be fairly safe. Make certain you're using strong encryption for your wireless connection - not WEP. Preferably use WPA2 with a strong pass phrase\password. And make sure your firewall is turned on.

Regards.

Hi, if you're using a BT HomeHub you'll see this



or this



because the HomeHub is actually a Thompson router.

Hope this helps,

Cheers

Hugh

The router is a "Thomson" not a "Thompson" - note the difference in spelling. The OP stated someone called "Thompson" who has a PC....

He's probably seeing an unsecured network in his neighborhood with sharing turned on.

Regards.

but this means that joe77 is connected to a neighborhood network instead of his own, should be easy to verify