IS File sharing via router secure in PPPoE network type ?

Hello everyone.. This is Raoul. And im having few questions to ask to all you pro's..I'll explain it you clearly about my issue and every detail as per my knowledge..

My ISP is using PPPoE connection type. Having everyone connected to each other via switches. Im having a desktop (using XP) and a laptop (Windows 7)..My ISP's cable goes into my Linksys WRH54G router, have configured the router properly to give internet access to my desktop (which is physically connected to router) and laptop (wi-fi) .. DHCP is enabled, had bounded individual's mac-id with ip 192.168.x.x , so that the private ip address doesnt change every now and then. I have also used router to share my local drives between my desktop and laptop. After a lot of struggle to make it work. Yes, finally i was successful in doing so. Allowing through AntiVirus' firewall, then using "Add a Network place ". I dont remember what i did..!! BUT, got my desktop and laptop shared anyhow. Now here comes my concern. The other day when i was looking at my network places in my desktop, i saw my desktop's local drives under "The internet" title. Does this mean that the drives were published to the internet ?? i.e. to the other users of ISP's (coz like i said, my ISP uses switches) ...

Also, will the rest of the users in ISP's network be able to see my desktop, laptop and the drives shared ?? If yes, then will they be prompted for ID and password ? i dont know what configuration i did when i was doing this sharing thing in my desktop, as i tried many things alltogether to make sharing work with my laptop. I havent changed the default behaviour of Simple File Sharing. This i remember.

Why i'm asking this ?? COZ ,, Yesterday, i directly inserted ISP's cable into my laptop's LAN card. Accidently, i went into my network places. And i was shocked to see 10 pc's in there. i tried to access them, prompted me for ID and Password. I clicked on View full map (Windows 7 feature). I got to see me connected to some switch,then that switch connected to another, few users connected to that switch n so on..Even if i was not connected to the internet, i could see them in my network places..! This made me go into panic zone, thinking that my home network is not secure, with or without router..! Especially when sharing my desktop drives, coz it had very sensitive data..To add to my worries, i saw my drives under "The internet" title in my desktop.. I have been asking this to many people now..Getting mixed reactions. Cant get to know, whether the network with router was secure or not ?? Could someone gain an easy access to my shared drives ?? When i used to access desktop drives from my laptop, it never used to prompt me for ID and password. i dont remember whether it did for the 1st time and that must have went into cache..i dont know about this. what is the default behaviour of this sharing ? Will it prompt for ID and password if my desktop is visible to someone in the network ? (Simple file-sharing option was ticked when i later checked that out)



Sorry for posting such a long query, but i wanted to explain my issue very nicely..PLEASE .. can anyone tell me whether my drives were safe when i was using router ? whether my drives were visible to anyone else in my ISP's network ? just like when i could see them..

Here's a rough figure of my topology. Please excuse for it being not so tidy..!
http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/5691/scenario1.jpg

Thanks & Regards

raOuL.

 

Allowing a direct connection to shared drives/folders through an internet router is ALWAYS a security issue. Your set up is vulnerable. I strongly recommend that you investing in a VPN router/firewall and route all network sharing over the VPN.