7-64 bit, same issue, started out rarely, progressed to daily.
Wasn't a third party firewall
The fixexplorer batch file helped, but every time I used it, it threw my desktop icons all over the screen.
I tried something simple that has worked 4 days in a row as of this message.
Right click Taskbar or Start Menu, Properties, Taskbar tab
Uncheck - Use small icons, apply, ok..
Can't say it will work for all, but it sure stopped my frustration
I tried this, but I have the address bar and quick launch menu (do not like using the "Pin this program to taskbar" option for programs) on my taskbar. When I tried that setting, it rearranged everything, and this takes me longer to fix than hitting a macro
key that kills are and restarts explorer.exe.
I do appreciate the suggestion, and I am sure it will help some folks.
P.S. - Setting up the Quick Launch menu in the first place is a hassle because MS chose to make it that way by removing the option to display it. Once I get it set up the way I like, I don't want to have to hassle with it just because I walked away long
enough for my screensaver to come on.