Connecting to wrong network automaticly

[Ecodisk]

I'm using OS X 10.6.8 on a MacBook

My problem is that my MacBook will automatically connect to my neighbors open network instead of my security enabled network. I can easily just click my own network, and it connects, but I have to do this every time I come home. I also realize that I can go into my network settings and just remove the network from the list, but there is a catch. The network is named "linksys" the default network name for those routers. I connect to other networks with this exact name when I'm not home, so I can't just remove it.

Is there some kind of way to tell my macbook that my own network is of a higher priority than a linksys network and connect to it whenever it is a available?

Thanks in advance,

 

[aristobrat]

You can set the priority in System Preferences > Network > Airport, but I'm not sure if you'll see one Linksys entry or multiples. :?

 

[Ecodisk]

ah, I see what I missed now. You drag the networks up and down the list to set the priority.

 

[bmcgonag]

ah, I see what I missed now. You drag the networks up and down the list to set the priority.

You could also let your neighbor know that they ought to change their SSID and setup security. They may ask you to help them, but that's what neighbors are for, right?

 

[Ecodisk]

You could also let your neighbor know that they ought to change their SSID and setup security. They may ask you to help them, but that's what neighbors are for, right?

I had fixed it for them before when I set up their printer because it benefited both of us, but a week later I found that they had reset their router back to default. So, I just gave up on it.

 

[killerrobot]

Why not delete their network from the preferred list so it won't connect to it automatically?