problems with Internet Explorer cutting out and MSN cutting out

hi! There seems to be a problem with Internet explorer cutting out.  Recently when on MSN I will be typing and it just closes and I have to reconnect.  When playing on the iwin.com site I can no longer finish a game such as Jewel Quest on line game.  There are other game sites I have also experienced problems with and so I quit using them.  Worldwinner was the name of that site.  I have Micosoft Security essentials installed and it has not shown any problems.  I also run Registry Tool on a fairly reg. basis and clear out the errors in the registry.  I restored my computer back to September but it has not corrected the problems.  There was a problem with java download which downloaded incorrectly and then a flashing orange java box kept opening.  I think I got that problem corrected now by going to java site and installing.  I have a Toshiba laptop with windows Vista.
Thanks for any suggestions.