Windows Updates (March 2016 Patchday) cause problems for e!Sankey - please read!

[pbeilschmidt]

The updates released by Microsoft on March 2016 (March patchday) may cause problems opening diagram files in e!Sankey. This issue was reported to us and we could confirm it on our own machines (Windows 7, Windows 10).

When trying to open an existing Sankey diagram file, or when creating a new diagram file, an error is prompted and the opening/creating of the file is aborted. The error message reads "Signature validation failed. File integrity compromised". See sample screenshot from e!Sankey 4 below.

We are not sure whether this problem occurs on all machines that have installed the March 8 security updates, or whether it occurs only on machines that have specific security settings.
[Update March 10: All e!Sankey versions 1,x, 2.x, 3.x and 4.0 seem to be affected. Problems have been reported for operating system Windows 7 and Windows 10]

Our staff is analyzing the issue at present, and we have likely identified which of the 13 Windows security updates may cause this problem for e!Sankey.
[Update March 9, 11 PM EST: KB3141780 and/or KB3135983 seem to be responsible for the problem. These security updates address a vulnerability in the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5.1. Please see the link in post reply #1 below.]

Microsoft encourages all users to install the updates and labels them as important. Hence we can not call for abstaining from running the updates. Should you, however, be able to delay the Windows update for some days, you could avoid to run into a situation in which you are unable to work with e!Sankey.

We will be working hard to solve this issue, if we have a handle on it. We will keep you informed on all developments here in the forum. Our e!Sankey Help Desk will do its best to answer all your questions. However, as of present (March 09, 2016, 1 PM EST) we can not offer a solution.
[Update March 10, 2 AM EST: Using a system restore point might constitute a first quick solution. Please read post reply #2 below.]
[Update March 10, 6 AM EST: For Windows 7 users temporarily uninstalling KB3135983 seems to be a possibility to circumvent the issue. Please see the link in post reply #3 below.]

We very much regret this situation that has arisen with the latest Microsoft Update and apologize for all inconveniences caused to our e!Sankey users.   

[pbeilschmidt]

Information on the March security updates:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3140768

Information on the specific most likely causing the issue:
MS16-035: Security update for the .NET Framework to address security feature bypass
MS16-035: Description of the security update for the .NET Framework 3.5.1 in Windows 7 Service Pack 1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1: March 8, 2016

[pbeilschmidt]

One possible solution can be the use of a System Restore Point. If you have opted for setting a system restore point before installing the Windows updates of March 8 you can revert to the operating system status you had before.

Note that system restore is not allowed in all companies. Please talk to to your system administrator. System restore may take up to 30 minutes.

We have conducted tests with system restore point and could successfully open e!Sankey files again.

Note: This is not an endorsement for running Windows System Restore.

We continue looking into other possibilities in tackling the problem, e.g. by temporarily excluding single security updates from the March Windows updates. We will keep you informed on any alternative solutions that can fix this issue.

[pbeilschmidt]

Another intemediate / temporary solution for users that run Windows 7 and possibly also Windows 8 / 8.1 could be to uninstall security update KB3135983 again, if the complete Windows Update of March 8, 2016 has been installed. Alternatively, if the Windows Update hasn't been installed yet, you may want to uncheck KB3135983 in the list of security updates, and exempt it (temporarily) from installing.

We do explicitly advise customers that they are uninstalling (or refrain from installing) this specific security update KB3135983 at their own risk. Microsoft has identified this security update as "important" and advises its users to install them. Consult with your system administrator.

[pbeilschmidt]

An intermediate update for our users (March 10, 12 AM EST):
Looks like the colleagues from the development team have caught this little rascal now and that we will be able to provide an update release compatible with the changes made by the Windows security update tomorrow. We beg your patience until we have done the necessary testing and will keep you posted here.

[pbeilschmidt]

We have now released new versions for e!Sankey 4.0 and e!Sankey 3.x and will be providing these on our update server within the next hour (Friday March 11, 12 AM CET/6 AM EST). Users will be notified that a new version is available in the software in the version panel on the start page (see screenshots).

Please see this new post for details.