New Laptop with wireless Card

[phil22407]

Hola. Bunch of questions. Just bought a new laptop with a wireless (802.11b) notbook card. It appears someone nearby has an AP, because I could pick it up and just connected to the internet. After I connected, I couldn't figure out how to unconnect from their AP. I ended up shutting down the card. (It's a D-Link) They did not have WEP enabled. First, if I'm connected to that AP, will they have access to my computer? Is the firewall in XP good, or should I use Zonealarm? I got my own AP and I enabled WEP, that will keep most people off, won't it? Also, when I was doing a speed check on my computer (download via cable), it appeared to slow down significantly when I connected my wired lan cable to the back of the wireless router, then when it was connected directly to the cable modem. With WEP enabled, it doesn't encrypt the wired connection too, does it? Enough questions for now. Thanks.

Phil