Hiding Shared Folders in Mac OS X 10.5

Dumb question: If I uncheck the Shared Folders option in System Preferences, will my computer even appear in Finder under Network on other peoples' Macs who are on the same network as me? Or will my computer simply show up, but those users won't be able to see any of my folders/files?

Basically, I just want to make sure my folders (and the contents therein) are kept visibly private/hidden from other users on my college's network, meaning I don't even want my folder/file names to appear. Is there a way to ensure this? I think some people are unaware that their files are accessible by random strangers, as I've noticed some confidential documents of others through my Finder and find it a little creepy.