Insect and Spider Identification: Spider Id Needed - Found in Central NY, 1 by eddied2

eddied2 wrote:
Hi all - We live in a suburb of Syracuse, NY. in a residential area. I've come across 3 of these spiders in the last 2 weeks in our home living area. It's leg span makes it about the size of a quarter coin. It looks black to the naked eye, but flash photo shows it more to be brown. It's the largest spider we've ever found in the house to date and it's freaking us out. Can someone identify this photo? Is it something we should be worried about? Thanks