Wireless network connectability question

[InverseOfNeo]

So I have wireless router with wep enabled as well as disabled the trasmission of the ssid. My laptop which has a wireless card built in (which by the way if any of you know how to get the chip # somehow so maybe I can upgrade the firmware to support WPA that would be great), is able to connect to the wireless network but drops the connection after a short amount of time. I have the latest firmware for the router (Linksys 54g wireless router by the way). Dont know what give there.
But anyway, heres the buring question...my mother had a meeting for a NPO event she is doing and one of the other ladies brought her laptop with her (I didnt ask but I think it was just a P4 laptop, not a Centrino). I sat in part of the meeting and during that time she said that she is using someones wireless network. Could it have been my network? If not, and it was one of my neighbors, could there be interference between the two networks so that my laptop would drop the connection every few minutes?

 

[Swimmer12]

If you are on the Linksys 54g router you need to do this... http://linksys.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/linksys.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=696&p_created=1084219779&p_sid=bl*Hdtgh&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPSZwX3NvcnRfYnk9JnBfZ3JpZHNvcnQ9JnBfcm93X2NudD02NzUmcF9wYWdlPTE*&p_li= As far as connecting to the wireless network with out knowing it.... It wouldnt be your unless you gave her the key... However if it wasnt a public access point she has just commited a crime... Theft of service... The only way you are going to get interference is if you and your next door neighbor are on the same channel and both routers are within range of each other.... Try netstumbler and figure out what channel they are on... If you are currently on 6 move to 11 anyways.. Everyone and their brother are on 6... And since it seem that there is no WEP on the other network my guess is that they just set it up and left it... Hope this helps