Dumbass question

Forgive me if this a really naive question, but if I leave my router switched on when the computer is turned off is there a possibility that some activity is still taking place via the connection? I ask because I've noticed my bandwidth allocation has been vanishing at a vast rate of knots this past couple of weeks... though my online activity hasn't been any more than is usual. Setting up this new router was such a PITB that I've been loathe to turn the stupid thing off in case I have to go through it all again, but maybe I'm going to have to rethink that policy. :confused

 

You shouldn't have to worry about turning off your router, since it uses nvram to store everything.

Also, is wireless turned on? If so, and if it isn't secured with at least wpa2 (or wpa), then probably someone is hitching a ride on free internet access.

Also, most routers allow you to backup the device. Highly recommended if you like to play with settings. So, if you mess it up, you can restore to a working device.

 

if you suspect someone is using your wireless connection, then you could enable MAC address filtering on your router.

 

It's a Thompson Gateway router ~ I've got it hardwired with an ethernet cable, but it is wireless capable.
I'm running Win 7 ( latest update 1.89.92.0 )... I'm beginning to wonder if that might be the problem, if it keeps downloading updates that I've not been aware of. I've also just noticed this ~

http://i415.photobucket.com/albums/pp233/thatmickeblue/workgroup.jpg

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~ workgroup? what the heck is that? I don't belong to any 'workgroup'... sounds sinister!

How do I go about enabling that? I've made sure all 'Network and sharing' capabilities are tuned off, but is there something else I should be doing?

 

http://i415.photobucket.com/albums/pp233/thatmickeblue/What.jpg
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I've got it sussed!