what does this mean?

[crispymacuser]

its only done this once before but under the shared bit it comes up with dell? what does this mean, it never usually does this?

 

[tersono]

That means there is a computer with the hostname 'Dell' somewhere on your network - that section allows access to remote shared directories.

 

[UltraNEO*]

It means, your connected to a system called "Dell" on your network. If it's someone in your household, you could probably drop files in their shared folder, or copy content from there.

 

[crispymacuser]

i dont have a dell nor does my family
but next door neighbours do across the street
does that mean that all the files im downloading on limewire are being received by them? if so, how can i stop this?

 

[Neil321]

mine is thomson as long as your internet connection is WEP or WAP protected
dont worry about it

View attachment 102634

 

[Virgil-TB2]

i dont have a dell nor does my family
but next door neighbours do across the street
does that mean that all the files im downloading on limewire are being received by them? if so, how can i stop this?

It could mean that you are actually not on your home network but are connected to your neighbors instead. If you are using wireless this is easily possible.

If that is true, then he/she, could possibly see your files as well.

 

[Silver-Fox]

is your network encrypted?

 

[crispymacuser]

no my network isnt encrypted, i cant access theirs because it is password protected. reason for no encryption is that the range of the router would not reach where they are, or would be very limited, and therefore saw no threat.

 

[Silver-Fox]

well if they have a laptop or something it isnt hard to take it, i would encrypt it ASAP even if you think unnecessary cant be to safe

 

[Neil321]

no my network isnt encrypted, i cant access theirs because it is password protected. reason for no encryption is that the range of the router would not reach where they are, or would be very limited, and therefore saw no threat.

If you are worried about it cant you set up you connection to be password enabled? i know some smart ar*se could probably hack this but your neighbors are probably just your average jo's

If i go into xp via bootcamp i can check by looking at all connections (not sure how to do this with Mac) but my wireless only shows i have one connection which is mine.If i go back into os x it still
says im shared with thomson but i know i aint

 

[Jason S.]

Either you are connecting to your neighbors network or vice versa. I recommend that you password protect your network, even if you think the distance is too far for them to be able to access it. I pick up 5 different wireless networks in my house; one of which comes from 2 houses down the road. The range of these wireless routers can be greater than you may think.

 

[killerwhack]

Put a password on your WAP and use WPA or WPA2

Don't run your network without encryption. Don't do it!

When you enable the password, use the WPA encryption. WEP is useless. WEP can be broken in a few minutes.

Don't wait.

 

[kuwisdelu]

If you can't access their network because it's password-protected, then their Dell is accidentally using your network and your wireless actually does have enough range for them to use. It's probably an honest mistake on their part, and their Dell just happened to access your network instead of theirs.

Don't worry about them being able to see your files. If you're running Leopard, you would need to go into Sys Pref > Sharing > Enable File Sharing for them to see anything, and then they would only see your "Public" folder in your home directory.

Regardless, though, you really should encrypt your wireless network. I'm sure you're neighbors are just regular people who don't know their computer's accessing the wrong WiFi, but if a hacker were driving through your neighborhood and found your unprotected network, with a little know-how they could access your computer and do naughty things. It happens; maybe not like that too often, but it happens; and better be safe than sorry.