Well, my desktop has finally died after lo these many years. I had pretty much quit using it, it was only there to run my home wireless network, I have a Linksys router which requires that it be connected to a computer via ethernet. It's working now but is not secure, meaning I can't pay bills etc unless I go paper. To get the secure wifi requires me to get another computer. I can get a cheap laptop to run the thing, but I kinda hate to do that if I don't have to.
So here's my question: is it possible to get standalone wifi which works with a cable modem? Not one of those damn cellular hotspots, that can easily run ~$300 a month or more. I'm talking something I can plug into my cable modem, then maybe use my laptop to set its security settings etc and then cut it loose to do its thing.
Your first paragraph is a bit confusing. Are you saying the connection to your computer is wired? What's not secure about that?
And yes, there are dozens of wireless routers that work with cable modems. I have a Linksys WRT54GL running the Tomato firmware myself. There's also Asus, Belkin, Netgear, Buffalo, and many others.
The Linksys requires that it be connected to a computer via an ethernet cable for it to work and also to the cable modem. I'm wanting something that does not require it to be connected to a computer 24/7. It may not even exist in home network land.
What crazy Linksys do you have? I've never had a Linksys act like that. I've seen cable/DSL modems work like that (they capture the MAC address of your PC), but not routers.
I know Linksys has software to load on your PC to monitor the router, but that is usually worthless and takes up resources. The routers tend to either work or they don't and a simple check of the internal website of the router will confirm the status of the router and Internet connection.
So to answer your question, all Internet connection sharing routers are standalone and can or should work without a PC connected to them.
Some lower-end routers might require you to hard-wire into it the first time you configure it, but I can't think of a single consumer-level router available that would require it to be cabled to a PC 100% of the time???
Based on the last couple of responses, I unplugged the router from the dead desktop. Damn if it doesn't still work, that's how I posted this. I guess I just need to reconfigure it with my laptop and see if it's secure. I R a big dumb stoopidhead. 
BTW, WiFi isn't very secure anymore, the latest encryption has already been cracked. The real security is with the website itself.
WPA2-PSK is still pretty secure so long as you're not using something that will come up easily in a rainbow run. It's the same with your passwords. Weak ones can easily be defeated using a brute force method.
http://arstechnica.com/security/2013/03/how-i-became-a-password-cracker/
Most of WEPs problems stem from weaknesses in the 802.11 standard which is exploited to retrieve the 64bit key a bit at a time.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wired_Equivalent_Privacy#Flaws
I haven't seen anything too specific about WPA2-PSK being cracked by the same method, just some articles about how you should choose a strong password and hide your SSID. I'd turn on MAC filtering too but that's a PITA to administrate.
Glad you figured it out Curmudgeon.
Well, I reconfigured the router and my home network is back with WEP 128 bit encryption even though neither the modem or the router are connected to a computer. Means I had what I wanted all along. Sometimes it's painfully obvious that I R not overly tech savvy. Thanks to all who chimed in!
In reply to Curmudgeon:
If your security is actually WEP, you'll want to upgrade your wireless router. WEP is trivially easy to crack these days.
Yep. You'll want a router capable of WPA/WPA2. Also, your interaction with most sites meant to be secure (e.g. banks) is encrypted in a way that is far stronger than wireless network encryption.
Hmmm. Didn't know that. Guess an upgrade is in order!
Yep, definitely. We run WPA2 with a completely random 10-digit passcode. Good luck cracking that!
Bah. Wireless sucks. You want a seriously secure network that actually works? Use wires!
Wireless doesn't suck, but a lot of the home wireless routers do, and people who suck try to use it in applications that make it suck.
