My partner and I have our computers networked in our home using our wireless LAN, but I'm lately concerned about people being able to hack into our network, like a neighbor or something. Is this a valid concern? What can I do to protect our files?

It is DEFINITELY a valid concern. I have a wireless network and have the encryption turned on and also run a firewall. Your modem should be able to be configured to allow encryption of your network so only those with a password can get into it. Mine is set up where the computers make the connection with the password automatically. You really want to look into this unless you want to let other folks take up your bandwidth!

Chris

I agree with Chris. You need to protect your network and not just because people will be able to steal the internet that you pay for but because they can access your system or anyone else on the network. Setting up the security on the router and having a firewall are important steps to protecting your network.

I think our modem has a built in firewall, but frankly I know nothing about it, I am not the savvy with security. How can I check if I am running a firewall, and how do I set up password-only access?