> Mine should be set up tomorrow. This stuff blows my mind.

There are a couple of things you want to do when you set up your wireless network. Most importantly is to change the default password on the wireless router, or else it's pretty easy for anyone nearby to take control of your network -- they could log into your wireless router and lock you out, etc.

You should also turn on some sort of encryption, probably the sort that is called WPA (it is more secure than WEP, which is the other common encryption). You'll have to set up a WPA password -- for good security pick a whole sentence, not just a single world -- and tell each computer what that password is. It's a little bit of a hassle, but it's well worth it for a few reasons:

1. Nobody else can use your network. As you've discovered with your neighbors, other people can hop onto your network from near by. This can be bad if a shady character wants to use your network for something illegal, e.g. sending spam, pirating files, or hacking other computers. If somebody did this using your network, it would look like you were responsible since it would be going through your access point.

2. It keeps your data secure. Anyone with a little bit of sophistication can eavesdrop on traffic passing through a wireless network if it's not encrypted.

There are a few more advanced options you may want to disable, including disallowing your router to be configured over the Internet (this is sometimes called Wide Area Network Administration or something similar).

Once you've done those things, I think you'll find wireless great. It's wonderful with a laptop and with encryption on, it's every bit as secure as a wired network.

Stephen