"WIRELESS NETWORK CONECTION" question

[Ejector]

"WIRELESS NETWORK CONECTION"

One of my options in my is to "Refresh Networ List',
When I do this I see many wireless signals and there strengths, including my that I have secure with a WEP code. this is all good and I think normal.


Every time I check, I have one called "bridge" unsecured computer-to-computer network

My question is, is this me? If so, would folks have access to my machine if they knew what they were doing?

I know it is a bit of a non tech question, but it has me wondering?

[Saab Dastard]

The name "BRIDGE" as an SSID suggests that it is being used as part of an ICS - internet connection sharing - home network. If you aren't using ICS, then it's unlikely to be you!

This is an "Ad-Hoc" connection, and is the wifi equivalent of a direct PC-PC LAN connection - i.e. with cross-over cable.

For Windows XP, There would need to be 4 or 5 things in place before your PC could be compromised:

1. The ad-hoc connection - this would provide the physical connection.
2. The WEP or WPA key would need to be known (if used).
3. A common IP network - this would provide the logical connection, and your IP address would need to be known by the other PC (but Windows default DHCP is a good place to start).
4. File and Printer Sharing to be on with defined shares on your PC (assuming Windows XP) - this would allow resources to be "advertised" on the network - but bear in mind that the "hidden" admin shares at the root of every drive are there by default, C$, D$ etc.
5. A valid account name and password on your PC would need to be known.

Some of these are easy to obtain or guess, others not so easy.

But for peace of mind, just set your PC to ONLY connect to Access Points or Infrastructure Networks.

Note that Vista, with IPv6 support, handles this significantly differently, and I have to admit that I'm not up to speed with it - yet!

SD