Salon.com Technology | Safe and insecure

I had a discussion once with Wes and Mithun about how they went to great lengths to secure their Wireless Network - a network they set up using one of the best selling and most reasonably priced Wireless routers on the market - a Linksys. A flaw in all Linksys routers was made public a couple of days ago that was remotely exploitable. This flaw allowed a hacker to become the admin on the router without much effort - the default password to administer the box was ironically, admin. Once hacked, the router could be used for unauthorized access to the Internet by the hacker (and anyone of his/her choosing). Linksys released a (lame-ass) patch a few days later to fix the hole - it changed the default password for remote access to some obscure value; the new password was published a couple of hours after the patch was released. So much for the much touted secure Wireless network...

This brings up the age-old question - Must I believe that something is true when it actually isn't or believe nothing at all? To make it more topical; should I never give up on securing my home network or is securing my network futile? The author takes the latter approach and states:

It feels strange to be opening up my network after years of vigorously protecting it, and it's not without a tinge of anxiety that I do so. But there's also a sense of liberation, of sticking it to the Man, that's undeniable, as well as an odd sense of community. It seems there's safety in numbers after all, even among strangers.

What is my take on this whole issue? I feel that too many things are out of my control when it comes to securing my computer. Not to stick it to anyone but the latest virus exploited a vulnerability in the Security Subsystem of an OS - ironic but true. I am aware of the oft quoted aphorism - A chain is only as strong as its weakest link - which makes me wonder how much I can do - I can fix my ignorance and setup everything correctly but what can I do if the vulnerability lies in the OS running on my computer or as the example I stated, in the hardware. And my take on an insecure wireless network? I have benefitted time and again from the largesse of people who share their wireless bandwidth. Is it then hard to figure why the day I have a Wireless Router, anyone with a Wireless-enabled machine in my vicinity will have access to the Internet?