which is by shutting down Windows (I assume) properly, you should be fine.

Just don't turn off your computer abruptly. That damages the hard drive and will force you to repair it via Windows.

You are turning off your router via the power strip, right ?

I hesitate to call Comcast because I always get someone who either does not listen or gives me garbled answers.
I just want a quick--evening-- fix to this slowdown. Sort of like 'tough luck neighbors".
Nasty of me, but after coping with the evening slowdown, I get frustrated and want to be done with it.
I hope someone who is piggybacking loses access to something they really want to see. Nasty of me, I know but I pay for myself, not those who live nearby. My area is densely populated, I'd bet my last penny that I have people who find my service of use to them.
The next time I have a computer problem that requires a professional, I will have him block the piggy-backers. In the meantime, I can't do anything except flip the switch and hope I don't make a mess of things for myself. At this point, I don't care about the neighbors.

I just do not want to damage this old machine.

(mine is one).

access it.

Do as the previous person advised: shut your computer down the normal way, with the shut down on the computer.

IF the power strip is connected to your WiFi Modem/ local access point, shutting it off by turning off the power strip that works to power both your computer and the WiFi Modem / local access point should definitely shut out your neighbors' access to your Wif Fi connection, but it should not be neccesary, if your Wifi Modem / local access point is passworded with a strong password. A strong passworded WiFi Modem /local access point should not grant access to any other computer(s) than the ones in your own house/apartment.

Where I live, in a townhouse community, 15 people all have to pay for their own WiFi Modem / Local Access Point, and all have their own strong passwords. The passwords are stored on their own computers so they don't have to remember them every day when logging on.

In my own townhouse, we have 3 computers, all WiFi, and all 3 can watch 3 movies at the same time on Netflix from one WiFi Modem / Local access point without slowing down any of the computers.

Consult with your local internet provider. This slow-down should NOT be happening, and they should discover why it is happening and recommend and implement fixes for you.

It should say on the housing of the router somewhere. It's probably Linksys, D-Link, Belkin, Netgear or another common one. I will be happy to walk you through making a password so your neighbors can't access your wifi.

Paper Roses, Steve is absolutely correct... provide us the make and model of the access point and we can walk you through configuring it for secured connectivity.

This day in age, password protecting your WiFi network is an absolute requirement. All it takes is for one person to hijack your signal and do something very suspicious or worse yet, illegal. YOU will be the one being investigated by the authorities. The first thing they will do is seize all of your computer related assets. Proving your innocence could take months to years, depending on the circumstances.

Just a thought - If you have both your computer and router connected to the same power strip... you would be much better off connecting your desktop to the router's LAN ports with a wired connection and gaining the full potential of your broadband service. You could shut off your WiFi and know that the only one able to connect to your service, is you. Obviously, if you have other devices connecting to your network, like a smart phone... this is not going to be an option.

with cable dsl everyone on the block taps into the same feed so the more users hop on the slower everyone's speed will be. that's why it worksfine in the am and as people wake up and get on line the speed starts dropping and continues to drop as more and more users access that feed

I know my neighbors are connected to my wi-fi.- how do you know this, modems usually come with security on and in order to let others use your service you have to goto the modem's interface page and turn off security

never do a hard shutdown on the comoputer - it should always be the absolute last thing you do

plenty of folks here ready and willing to assist, but you'll need to provide the make/model of your router. it's not as daunting a task as you might think.

the problem. You really don't want people using you wi-fi - they could be doing something illegal that will come back on you.

Let someone here walk you through the steps to password protect your router. It's really not that complicated.