Wireless access- Yes, indeed, by default windows has an option called "Ad-hoc" which automatically signs into a wireless point. You should disable this before venturing outside the home. See this link which also tells you some very important things to do: http://mobileoffice.about.com/cs/fin...usehotspot.htm

Also, you probably should not use any unsecured webpage login or such in a public hotspot, meaning that you should not log into an unsecured email account, bank account, etc... because people that have packet sniffers can look at everybody's traffic on the hotspot. For that reason, you should use a VPN solution such as Hamachi or Open VPN to remote control or even use something like LogMeIn (because it is free) to remotely control your desktop at home to surf the net. Following all of these practices can help keep you safe at a hotspot

Ethernet Access- If the ethernet card is enabled, which it should be by default, then it should not be any problem configuring because Windows does it for you! With DSL you should just be able to plug it in and go, even with MAC (although I have never set up a Mac, so you may need a second opinion).