[...]

If you had a router, you wouldn't need to run a software firewall.
Routers use a protocal known as NAT, which (as a side effect) functions
as a firewall.

Your modem *might* be implimenting NAT internally. *What are the first
two numbers of your IP address (as seen when you open a dos window and
enter the command ipconfig) ?

ipconfig yields
Ethernet Adaptor IP: 16....
Ethernet Adaptor IP: 19...

Hey would deleting the USB entries under Device Manager and
reinstalling
them help any?

..