diff --git a/archival/libunarchive/get_header_ar.c b/archival/libunarchive/get_header_ar.c
index 7372ada32..b91c6f97d 100644
--- a/archival/libunarchive/get_header_ar.c
+++ b/archival/libunarchive/get_header_ar.c
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ char get_header_ar(archive_handle_t *archive_handle)
 			(saved in variable long_name) that conatains the real filename */
 			const unsigned int long_offset = atoi(&ar.formatted.name[1]);
 			if (long_offset >= ar_long_name_size) {
-				bb_error_msg_and_die("Cant resolve long filename");
+				bb_error_msg_and_die("can't resolve long filename");
 			}
 			typed->name = xstrdup(ar_long_names + long_offset);
 		}
diff --git a/archival/libunarchive/open_transformer.c b/archival/libunarchive/open_transformer.c
index 99e71ec2e..456d3e986 100644
--- a/archival/libunarchive/open_transformer.c
+++ b/archival/libunarchive/open_transformer.c
@@ -18,23 +18,23 @@ int open_transformer(int src_fd,
 	int pid;
 
 	if (pipe(fd_pipe) != 0) {
-		bb_perror_msg_and_die("Can't create pipe");
+		bb_perror_msg_and_die("can't create pipe");
 	}
 
 	pid = fork();
 	if (pid == -1) {
-		bb_perror_msg_and_die("Fork failed");
+		bb_perror_msg_and_die("fork failed");
 	}
 
 	if (pid == 0) {
 		/* child process */
-	    close(fd_pipe[0]); /* We don't wan't to read from the parent */
-	    // FIXME: error check?
-	    transformer(src_fd, fd_pipe[1]);
-	    close(fd_pipe[1]); /* Send EOF */
+		close(fd_pipe[0]); /* We don't wan't to read from the parent */
+		// FIXME: error check?
+		transformer(src_fd, fd_pipe[1]);
+		close(fd_pipe[1]); /* Send EOF */
 		close(src_fd);
-	    exit(0);
-	    /* notreached */
+		exit(0);
+		/* notreached */
 	}
 
 	/* parent process */
diff --git a/archival/tar.c b/archival/tar.c
index 5935ccaa3..2c4280cc4 100644
--- a/archival/tar.c
+++ b/archival/tar.c
@@ -457,7 +457,7 @@ static int writeTarFile(const int tar_fd, const int verboseFlag,
 
 				if (n == 0 && vfork_exec_errno != 0) {
 					errno = vfork_exec_errno;
-					bb_perror_msg_and_die("Could not exec %s", zip_exec);
+					bb_perror_msg_and_die("cannot exec %s", zip_exec);
 				} else if ((n < 0) && (errno == EAGAIN || errno == EINTR))
 					continue;	/* try it again */
 				break;
diff --git a/coreutils/diff.c b/coreutils/diff.c
index 65757d7d1..2915d4009 100644
--- a/coreutils/diff.c
+++ b/coreutils/diff.c
@@ -1202,7 +1202,7 @@ int diff_main(int argc, char **argv)
 	 * driver routine.  Both drivers use the contents of stb1 and stb2.
 	 */
 	if (argc < 2) {
-		bb_error_msg("Missing filename");
+		bb_error_msg("missing filename");
 		bb_show_usage();
 	}
 	if (strcmp(argv[0], "-") == 0) {
@@ -1216,12 +1216,12 @@ int diff_main(int argc, char **argv)
 	} else
 		xstat(argv[1], &stb2);
 	if (gotstdin && (S_ISDIR(stb1.st_mode) || S_ISDIR(stb2.st_mode)))
-		bb_error_msg_and_die("Can't compare - to a directory");
+		bb_error_msg_and_die("can't compare - to a directory");
 	if (S_ISDIR(stb1.st_mode) && S_ISDIR(stb2.st_mode)) {
 #if ENABLE_FEATURE_DIFF_DIR
 		diffdir(argv[0], argv[1]);
 #else
-		bb_error_msg_and_die("Directory comparison not supported");
+		bb_error_msg_and_die("directory comparison not supported");
 #endif
 	} else {
 		if (S_ISDIR(stb1.st_mode)) {
diff --git a/editors/vi.c b/editors/vi.c
index fa30cf29c..a25e96657 100644
--- a/editors/vi.c
+++ b/editors/vi.c
@@ -2353,7 +2353,7 @@ static int file_insert(Byte * fn, Byte * p, int size)
 #endif
 		fd = open((char *) fn, O_RDONLY);	// try read-only
 		if (fd < 0) {
-			psbs("\"%s\" %s", fn, "could not open file");
+			psbs("\"%s\" %s", fn, "cannot open file");
 			goto fi0;
 		}
 #ifdef CONFIG_FEATURE_VI_READONLY
@@ -2367,11 +2367,11 @@ static int file_insert(Byte * fn, Byte * p, int size)
 	if (cnt < 0) {
 		cnt = -1;
 		p = text_hole_delete(p, p + size - 1);	// un-do buffer insert
-		psbs("could not read file \"%s\"", fn);
+		psbs("cannot read file \"%s\"", fn);
 	} else if (cnt < size) {
 		// There was a partial read, shrink unused space text[]
 		p = text_hole_delete(p + cnt, p + (size - cnt) - 1);	// un-do buffer insert
-		psbs("could not read all of file \"%s\"", fn);
+		psbs("cannot read all of file \"%s\"", fn);
 	}
 	if (cnt >= size)
 		file_modified++;
diff --git a/include/libbb.h b/include/libbb.h
index 767a3378b..0bcabf17b 100644
--- a/include/libbb.h
+++ b/include/libbb.h
@@ -205,12 +205,22 @@ extern int is_directory(const char *name, int followLinks, struct stat *statBuf)
 extern DIR *warn_opendir(const char *path);
 extern DIR *xopendir(const char *path);
 
+extern ssize_t safe_read(int fd, void *buf, size_t count);
+extern ssize_t full_read(int fd, void *buf, size_t count);
+extern void xread(int fd, void *buf, size_t count);
+extern unsigned char xread_char(int fd);
+extern char *reads(int fd, char *buf, size_t count);
+ssize_t read_close(int fd, void *buf, size_t count);
+ssize_t open_read_close(const char *filename, void *buf, size_t count);
+void *xmalloc_open_read_close(const char *filename, size_t *sizep);
+
+extern ssize_t safe_write(int fd, const void *buf, size_t count);
+extern ssize_t full_write(int fd, const void *buf, size_t count);
+extern void xwrite(int fd, void *buf, size_t count);
+
 extern int remove_file(const char *path, int flags);
 extern int copy_file(const char *source, const char *dest, int flags);
-extern ssize_t safe_read(int fd, void *buf, size_t count);
-extern ssize_t full_read(int fd, void *buf, size_t len);
-extern ssize_t safe_write(int fd, const void *buf, size_t count);
-extern ssize_t full_write(int fd, const void *buf, size_t len);
+
 extern int recursive_action(const char *fileName, int recurse,
 	  int followLinks, int depthFirst,
 	  int (*fileAction) (const char *fileName, struct stat* statbuf, void* userData),
@@ -592,10 +602,7 @@ extern int obscure(const char *old, const char *newval, const struct passwd *pwd
 extern void xsetenv(const char *key, const char *value);
 extern int xopen(const char *pathname, int flags);
 extern int xopen3(const char *pathname, int flags, int mode);
-extern void xread(int fd, void *buf, size_t count);
-extern unsigned char xread_char(int fd);
-extern void xlseek(int fd, off_t offset, int whence);
-extern void xwrite(int fd, void *buf, size_t count);
+extern off_t xlseek(int fd, off_t offset, int whence);
 
 extern const char bb_uuenc_tbl_base64[];
 extern const char bb_uuenc_tbl_std[];
diff --git a/init/init.c b/init/init.c
index 8257b7fb0..99a11e526 100644
--- a/init/init.c
+++ b/init/init.c
@@ -561,7 +561,7 @@ static pid_t run(const struct init_action *a)
 		execv(cmdpath, cmd);
 
 		/* We're still here?  Some error happened. */
-		message(LOG | CONSOLE, "Bummer, could not run '%s': %m", cmdpath);
+		message(LOG | CONSOLE, "Bummer, cannot run '%s': %m", cmdpath);
 		_exit(-1);
 	}
 	sigprocmask(SIG_SETMASK, &omask, NULL);
diff --git a/libbb/Kbuild b/libbb/Kbuild
index 27ed68c2c..3b16f5c45 100644
--- a/libbb/Kbuild
+++ b/libbb/Kbuild
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ lib-y:= \
 	compare_string_array.o concat_path_file.o copy_file.o copyfd.o \
 	crc32.o create_icmp_socket.o create_icmp6_socket.o \
 	device_open.o dump.o error_msg.o error_msg_and_die.o \
-	find_pid_by_name.o find_root_device.o fgets_str.o full_read.o \
+	find_pid_by_name.o find_root_device.o fgets_str.o \
 	full_write.o get_last_path_component.o get_line_from_file.o \
 	herror_msg.o herror_msg_and_die.o \
 	human_readable.o inet_common.o inode_hash.o isdirectory.o \
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ lib-y:= \
 	perror_msg_and_die.o get_console.o \
 	process_escape_sequence.o procps.o \
 	recursive_action.o remove_file.o \
-	restricted_shell.o run_parts.o run_shell.o safe_read.o safe_write.o \
+	restricted_shell.o run_parts.o run_shell.o read.o safe_write.o \
 	safe_strncpy.o setup_environment.o sha1.o simplify_path.o \
 	trim.o u_signal_names.o vdprintf.o verror_msg.o \
 	vherror_msg.o vperror_msg.o wfopen.o xconnect.o xgetcwd.o \
diff --git a/libbb/full_read.c b/libbb/full_read.c
deleted file mode 100644
index 068d16698..000000000
--- a/libbb/full_read.c
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,42 +0,0 @@
-/* vi: set sw=4 ts=4: */
-/*
- * Utility routines.
- *
- * Copyright (C) 1999-2004 by Erik Andersen <andersen@codepoet.org>
- *
- * Licensed under GPLv2 or later, see file LICENSE in this tarball for details.
- */
-
-#include <stdio.h>
-#include <unistd.h>
-#include "libbb.h"
-
-/*
- * Read all of the supplied buffer from a file.
- * This does multiple reads as necessary.
- * Returns the amount read, or -1 on an error.
- * A short read is returned on an end of file.
- */
-ssize_t full_read(int fd, void *buf, size_t len)
-{
-	ssize_t cc;
-	ssize_t total;
-
-	total = 0;
-
-	while (len) {
-		cc = safe_read(fd, buf, len);
-
-		if (cc < 0)
-			return cc;	/* read() returns -1 on failure. */
-
-		if (cc == 0)
-			break;
-
-		buf = ((char *)buf) + cc;
-		total += cc;
-		len -= cc;
-	}
-
-	return total;
-}
diff --git a/libbb/procps.c b/libbb/procps.c
index 2bcd2cced..eba90705c 100644
--- a/libbb/procps.c
+++ b/libbb/procps.c
@@ -22,15 +22,9 @@
 
 static int read_to_buf(const char *filename, void *buf)
 {
-	int fd;
 	ssize_t ret;
-
-	fd = open(filename, O_RDONLY);
-	if (fd < 0)
-		return -1;
-	ret = read(fd, buf, PROCPS_BUFSIZE-1);
-	((char *)buf)[ret > 0 ? ret : 0] = 0;
-	close(fd);
+	ret = open_read_close(filename, buf, PROCPS_BUFSIZE-1);
+	((char *)buf)[ret > 0 ? ret : 0] = '\0';
 	return ret;
 }
 
diff --git a/libbb/read.c b/libbb/read.c
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1c2945f45
--- /dev/null
+++ b/libbb/read.c
@@ -0,0 +1,133 @@
+/* vi: set sw=4 ts=4: */
+/*
+ * Utility routines.
+ *
+ * Copyright (C) 1999-2004 by Erik Andersen <andersen@codepoet.org>
+ *
+ * Licensed under GPLv2 or later, see file LICENSE in this tarball for details.
+ */
+
+#include "libbb.h"
+
+ssize_t safe_read(int fd, void *buf, size_t count)
+{
+	ssize_t n;
+
+	do {
+		n = read(fd, buf, count);
+	} while (n < 0 && errno == EINTR);
+
+	return n;
+}
+
+/*
+ * Read all of the supplied buffer from a file.
+ * This does multiple reads as necessary.
+ * Returns the amount read, or -1 on an error.
+ * A short read is returned on an end of file.
+ */
+ssize_t full_read(int fd, void *buf, size_t len)
+{
+	ssize_t cc;
+	ssize_t total;
+
+	total = 0;
+
+	while (len) {
+		cc = safe_read(fd, buf, len);
+
+		if (cc < 0)
+			return cc;	/* read() returns -1 on failure. */
+
+		if (cc == 0)
+			break;
+
+		buf = ((char *)buf) + cc;
+		total += cc;
+		len -= cc;
+	}
+
+	return total;
+}
+
+// Die with an error message if we can't read the entire buffer.
+void xread(int fd, void *buf, size_t count)
+{
+	if (count) {
+		ssize_t size = full_read(fd, buf, count);
+		if (size != count)
+			bb_error_msg_and_die("short read");
+	}
+}
+
+// Die with an error message if we can't read one character.
+unsigned char xread_char(int fd)
+{
+	char tmp;
+
+	xread(fd, &tmp, 1);
+
+	return tmp;
+}
+
+// Read one line a-la fgets. Works only on seekable streams
+char *reads(int fd, char *buffer, size_t size)
+{
+	char *p;
+
+	if (size < 2)
+		return NULL;
+	size = full_read(fd, buffer, size-1);
+	if ((ssize_t)size <= 0)
+		return NULL;
+
+	buffer[size] = '\0';
+	p = strchr(buffer, '\n');
+	if (p) {
+		off_t offset;
+		*p++ = '\0';
+		offset = (p-buffer) - size;
+		// set fd position the right after the \n
+		if (offset && lseek(fd, offset, SEEK_CUR) == (off_t)-1)
+			return NULL;
+	}
+	return buffer;
+}
+
+ssize_t read_close(int fd, void *buf, size_t size)
+{
+	int e;
+	size = full_read(fd, buf, size);
+	e = errno;
+	close(fd);
+	errno = e;
+	return size;
+}
+
+ssize_t open_read_close(const char *filename, void *buf, size_t size)
+{
+	int fd = open(filename, O_RDONLY);
+	if (fd < 0)
+		return fd;
+	return read_close(fd, buf, size);
+}
+
+void *xmalloc_open_read_close(const char *filename, size_t *sizep)
+{
+	char *buf;
+	size_t size = sizep ? *sizep : INT_MAX;
+	int fd = xopen(filename, O_RDONLY);
+	off_t len = xlseek(fd, 0, SEEK_END);
+	xlseek(fd, 0, SEEK_SET);
+
+	if (len > size)
+		bb_error_msg_and_die("file '%s' is too big", filename);
+	size = len;
+	buf = xmalloc(size+1);
+	size = read_close(fd, buf, size);
+	if ((ssize_t)size < 0)
+    		bb_perror_msg_and_die("'%s'", filename);
+	buf[size] = '\0';
+	if (sizep) *sizep = size;
+	return buf;
+}
diff --git a/libbb/safe_read.c b/libbb/safe_read.c
deleted file mode 100644
index a59934a4d..000000000
--- a/libbb/safe_read.c
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,26 +0,0 @@
-/* vi: set sw=4 ts=4: */
-/*
- * Utility routines.
- *
- * Copyright (C) 1999-2004 by Erik Andersen <andersen@codepoet.org>
- *
- * Licensed under GPLv2 or later, see file LICENSE in this tarball for details.
- */
-
-#include <stdio.h>
-#include <errno.h>
-#include <unistd.h>
-#include "libbb.h"
-
-
-
-ssize_t safe_read(int fd, void *buf, size_t count)
-{
-	ssize_t n;
-
-	do {
-		n = read(fd, buf, count);
-	} while (n < 0 && errno == EINTR);
-
-	return n;
-}
diff --git a/libbb/xfuncs.c b/libbb/xfuncs.c
index efc919491..0a5abb878 100644
--- a/libbb/xfuncs.c
+++ b/libbb/xfuncs.c
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ int xopen(const char *pathname, int flags)
 	if (ENABLE_DEBUG && (flags & O_CREAT))
 		bb_error_msg_and_die("xopen() with O_CREAT");
 
-	return xopen3(pathname, flags, 0777);
+	return xopen3(pathname, flags, 0666);
 }
 
 // Die if we can't open a new file and return an fd.
@@ -110,16 +110,6 @@ int xopen3(const char *pathname, int flags, int mode)
 	return ret;
 }
 
-// Die with an error message if we can't read the entire buffer.
-void xread(int fd, void *buf, size_t count)
-{
-	if (count) {
-		ssize_t size = full_read(fd, buf, count);
-		if (size != count)
-			bb_error_msg_and_die("short read");
-	}
-}
-
 // Die with an error message if we can't write the entire buffer.
 void xwrite(int fd, void *buf, size_t count)
 {
@@ -131,20 +121,12 @@ void xwrite(int fd, void *buf, size_t count)
 }
 
 // Die with an error message if we can't lseek to the right spot.
-void xlseek(int fd, off_t offset, int whence)
+off_t xlseek(int fd, off_t offset, int whence)
 {
-	if (offset != lseek(fd, offset, whence))
-		bb_error_msg_and_die("lseek");
-}
-
-// Die with an error message if we can't read one character.
-unsigned char xread_char(int fd)
-{
-	char tmp;
-
-	xread(fd, &tmp, 1);
-
-	return tmp;
+	off_t off = lseek(fd, offset, whence);
+	if (off == (off_t)-1)
+		bb_perror_msg_and_die("lseek");
+	return off;
 }
 
 // Die with supplied error message if this FILE * has ferror set.
@@ -309,7 +291,7 @@ off_t fdlength(int fd)
 
 		// If we can read from the current location, it's bigger.
 
-		if (lseek(fd, pos, 0)>=0 && safe_read(fd, &temp, 1)==1) {
+		if (lseek(fd, pos, SEEK_SET)>=0 && safe_read(fd, &temp, 1)==1) {
 			if (bottom == top) bottom = top = (top+1) * 2;
 			else bottom = pos;
 
diff --git a/loginutils/deluser.c b/loginutils/deluser.c
index f4320687e..bbbd77dbd 100644
--- a/loginutils/deluser.c
+++ b/loginutils/deluser.c
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ static void del_line_matching(const char *login, const char *filename)
 				fclose(passwd);
 			}
 		} else {
-			bb_error_msg("Can't find '%s' in '%s'", login, filename);
+			bb_error_msg("can't find '%s' in '%s'", login, filename);
 		}
 		free(buffer);
 	}
diff --git a/miscutils/crond.c b/miscutils/crond.c
index 623e8c359..eaed1ea69 100644
--- a/miscutils/crond.c
+++ b/miscutils/crond.c
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@ static void crondlog(const char *ctl, ...)
 				close(logfd);
 #if ENABLE_DEBUG_CROND_OPTION
 			} else {
-				bb_perror_msg("Can't open log file");
+				bb_perror_msg("can't open log file");
 #endif
 			}
 		}
@@ -924,7 +924,7 @@ static void RunJob(const char *user, CronLine * line)
 		line->cl_MailFlag = 1;
 		fdprintf(mailFd, "To: %s\nSubject: cron: %s\n\n", user,
 			line->cl_Shell);
-		line->cl_MailPos = lseek(mailFd, 0, 1);
+		line->cl_MailPos = lseek(mailFd, 0, SEEK_CUR);
 	} else {
 		crondlog("\024unable to create mail file user %s file %s, output to /dev/null\n", user, mailFile);
 	}
diff --git a/miscutils/crontab.c b/miscutils/crontab.c
index a3bfd495d..6ae1b020c 100644
--- a/miscutils/crontab.c
+++ b/miscutils/crontab.c
@@ -171,7 +171,7 @@ int crontab_main(int ac, char **av)
 			}
 			EditFile(caller, tmp);
 			remove(tmp);
-			lseek(fd, 0L, 0);
+			lseek(fd, 0L, SEEK_SET);
 			repFd = fd;
 		}
 		option = REPLACE;
diff --git a/miscutils/makedevs.c b/miscutils/makedevs.c
index e4658010c..6ff5cc223 100644
--- a/miscutils/makedevs.c
+++ b/miscutils/makedevs.c
@@ -187,7 +187,7 @@ int makedevs_main(int argc, char **argv)
 					sprintf(full_name_inc, "%s%d", full_name, i);
 					rdev = (major << 8) + minor + (i * increment - start);
 					if (mknod(full_name_inc, mode, rdev) == -1) {
-						bb_perror_msg("line %d: could not create node %s", linenum, full_name_inc);
+						bb_perror_msg("line %d: cannot create node %s", linenum, full_name_inc);
 						ret = EXIT_FAILURE;
 					}
 					else if (chown(full_name_inc, uid, gid) == -1) {
@@ -203,7 +203,7 @@ int makedevs_main(int argc, char **argv)
 			} else {
 				rdev = (major << 8) + minor;
 				if (mknod(full_name, mode, rdev) == -1) {
-					bb_perror_msg("line %d: could not create node %s", linenum, full_name);
+					bb_perror_msg("line %d: cannot create node %s", linenum, full_name);
 					ret = EXIT_FAILURE;
 				}
 				else if (chown(full_name, uid, gid) == -1) {
diff --git a/miscutils/nmeter.c b/miscutils/nmeter.c
index e83de38ec..d71bd6add 100644
--- a/miscutils/nmeter.c
+++ b/miscutils/nmeter.c
@@ -88,12 +88,7 @@ static void put_question_marks(int count)
 
 static int readfile_z(char *buf, int sz, const char* fname)
 {
-	int fd;
-	fd = xopen(fname, O_RDONLY);
-	// We are not checking for short reads (valid only because
-	// we are reading /proc files)
-	sz = read(fd, buf, sz-1);
-	close(fd);
+	sz = open_read_close(fname, buf, sz-1);
 	if (sz < 0) {
 		buf[0] = '\0';
 		return 1;
@@ -776,15 +771,12 @@ int nmeter_main(int argc, char* argv[])
 	s_stat *last = NULL;
 	s_stat *s;
 	char *cur, *prev;
-	int fd;
 
 	if (argc != 2)
 		bb_show_usage();
 
-	fd = xopen("/proc/version", O_RDONLY);
-	if (read(fd, buf, sizeof(buf)) > 0)
-		is26 = (strstr(buf, "Linux version 2.4.")==NULL);
-	close(fd);
+	if (open_read_close("/proc/version", buf, sizeof(buf)) > 0)
+		is26 = (strstr(buf, " 2.4.")==NULL);
 
 	// Can use argv[1] directly, but this will mess up
 	// parameters as seen by e.g. ps. Making a copy...
diff --git a/modutils/insmod.c b/modutils/insmod.c
index 3d9add19a..882fcf80f 100644
--- a/modutils/insmod.c
+++ b/modutils/insmod.c
@@ -4186,10 +4186,10 @@ int insmod_main( int argc, char **argv)
 	m_addr = create_module(m_name, m_size);
 	if (m_addr == -1) switch (errno) {
 		case EEXIST:
-			bb_error_msg("A module named %s already exists", m_name);
+			bb_error_msg("a module named %s already exists", m_name);
 			goto out;
 		case ENOMEM:
-			bb_error_msg("Can't allocate kernel memory for module; needed %lu bytes",
+			bb_error_msg("can't allocate kernel memory for module; needed %lu bytes",
 					m_size);
 			goto out;
 		default:
diff --git a/modutils/lsmod.c b/modutils/lsmod.c
index ac1cded2b..2bf4afbe9 100644
--- a/modutils/lsmod.c
+++ b/modutils/lsmod.c
@@ -147,9 +147,8 @@ int lsmod_main(int argc, char **argv)
 	check_tainted();
 #if defined(CONFIG_FEATURE_LSMOD_PRETTY_2_6_OUTPUT)
 	{
-		char line[4096];
-
-		while (fgets(line, sizeof(line), file)) {
+		char *line;
+		while ((line = xmalloc_fgets(file)) != NULL) {
 			char *tok;
 
 			tok = strtok(line, " \t");
@@ -175,7 +174,8 @@ int lsmod_main(int argc, char **argv)
 					tok = "";
 					printf(" %s", tok);
 			}
-			printf("\n");
+			puts("");
+			free(line);
 		}
 		fclose(file);
 	}
diff --git a/modutils/modprobe.c b/modutils/modprobe.c
index b629390e4..ab595c847 100644
--- a/modutils/modprobe.c
+++ b/modutils/modprobe.c
@@ -93,35 +93,6 @@ static int parse_tag_value ( char *buffer, char **ptag, char **pvalue )
 	return 1;
 }
 
-/* Jump through hoops to simulate how fgets() grabs just one line at a
- * time... Don't use any stdio since modprobe gets called from a kernel
- * thread and stdio junk can overflow the limited stack...
- */
-static char *reads ( int fd, char *buffer, size_t len )
-{
-	int n = read ( fd, buffer, len );
-
-	if ( n > 0 ) {
-		char *p;
-
-		buffer [len-1] = 0;
-		p = strchr ( buffer, '\n' );
-
-		if ( p ) {
-			off_t offset;
-
-			offset = lseek ( fd, 0L, SEEK_CUR );               // Get the current file descriptor offset
-			lseek ( fd, offset-n + (p-buffer) + 1, SEEK_SET ); // Set the file descriptor offset to right after the \n
-
-			p[1] = 0;
-		}
-		return buffer;
-	}
-
-	else
-		return 0;
-}
-
 /*
  * This function appends an option to a list
  */
@@ -913,7 +884,7 @@ int modprobe_main(int argc, char** argv)
 	depend = build_dep ( );
 
 	if ( !depend )
-		bb_error_msg_and_die ( "could not parse modules.dep" );
+		bb_error_msg_and_die ( "cannot parse modules.dep" );
 
 	if (remove_opt) {
 		do {
diff --git a/networking/fakeidentd.c b/networking/fakeidentd.c
index c8d32765a..18e86c50b 100644
--- a/networking/fakeidentd.c
+++ b/networking/fakeidentd.c
@@ -140,7 +140,7 @@ static int godaemon(void)
 	case 0:
 		pw = getpwnam(nobodystr);
 		if (pw == NULL)
-			bb_error_msg_and_die("Cannot find uid/gid of user '%s'", nobodystr);
+			bb_error_msg_and_die("cannot find uid/gid of user '%s'", nobodystr);
 		nobody = pw->pw_uid;
 		nogrp = pw->pw_gid;
 		writepid(nobody, nogrp);
diff --git a/networking/ftpgetput.c b/networking/ftpgetput.c
index 47126ee83..aafeaf6e9 100644
--- a/networking/ftpgetput.c
+++ b/networking/ftpgetput.c
@@ -166,7 +166,7 @@ int ftp_receive(ftp_host_info_t *server, FILE *control_stream,
 		if (do_continue) {
 			fd_local = xopen(local_path, O_APPEND | O_WRONLY);
 		} else {
-			fd_local = xopen3(local_path, O_CREAT | O_TRUNC | O_WRONLY, 0777);
+			fd_local = xopen3(local_path, O_CREAT | O_TRUNC | O_WRONLY, 0666);
 		}
 	}
 
diff --git a/networking/inetd.c b/networking/inetd.c
index 966425385..75b2b14a7 100644
--- a/networking/inetd.c
+++ b/networking/inetd.c
@@ -1371,7 +1371,7 @@ inetd_main(int argc, char *argv[])
 					socklen_t plen = sizeof(peer);
 
 					if (getpeername(ctrl, (struct sockaddr *) &peer, &plen) < 0) {
-						bb_error_msg("could not getpeername");
+						bb_error_msg("cannot getpeername");
 						close(ctrl);
 						continue;
 					}
diff --git a/networking/libiproute/libnetlink.c b/networking/libiproute/libnetlink.c
index de11d9dac..a595e967f 100644
--- a/networking/libiproute/libnetlink.c
+++ b/networking/libiproute/libnetlink.c
@@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ int rtnl_dump_filter(struct rtnl_handle *rth,
 		     int (*junk)(struct sockaddr_nl *,struct nlmsghdr *n, void *),
 		     void *arg2)
 {
-	char	buf[8192];
+	char buf[8192];
 	struct sockaddr_nl nladdr;
 	struct iovec iov = { buf, sizeof(buf) };
 
diff --git a/networking/netstat.c b/networking/netstat.c
index bc5c61974..8e481f67b 100644
--- a/networking/netstat.c
+++ b/networking/netstat.c
@@ -496,7 +496,6 @@ static void unix_do_one(int nr, const char *line)
 
 static void do_info(const char *file, const char *name, void (*proc)(int, const char *))
 {
-	char buffer[8192];
 	int lnr = 0;
 	FILE *procinfo;
 
@@ -505,12 +504,15 @@ static void do_info(const char *file, const char *name, void (*proc)(int, const
 		if (errno != ENOENT) {
 			perror(file);
 		} else {
-		bb_error_msg("no support for `%s' on this system", name);
+			bb_error_msg("no support for '%s' on this system", name);
 		}
 	} else {
 		do {
-			if (fgets(buffer, sizeof(buffer), procinfo))
+			char *buffer = xmalloc_fgets(procinfo);
+			if (buffer) {
 				(proc)(lnr++, buffer);
+				free(buffer);
+			}
 		} while (!feof(procinfo));
 		fclose(procinfo);
 	}
diff --git a/networking/traceroute.c b/networking/traceroute.c
index 84ce8ae69..3b590630c 100644
--- a/networking/traceroute.c
+++ b/networking/traceroute.c
@@ -417,7 +417,7 @@ ifaddrlist(struct IFADDRLIST **ipaddrp)
 		++nipaddr;
 	}
 	if (nipaddr == 0)
-	    bb_error_msg_and_die ("Can't find any network interfaces");
+		bb_error_msg_and_die ("can't find any network interfaces");
 	(void)close(fd);
 
 	*ipaddrp = st_ifaddrlist;
@@ -472,7 +472,7 @@ findsaddr(const struct sockaddr_in *to, struct sockaddr_in *from)
 	fclose(f);
 
 	if (device[0] == '\0')
-		bb_error_msg_and_die ("Can't find interface");
+		bb_error_msg_and_die ("can't find interface");
 
 	/* Get the interface address list */
 	n = ifaddrlist(&al);
@@ -482,7 +482,7 @@ findsaddr(const struct sockaddr_in *to, struct sockaddr_in *from)
 		if (strcmp(device, al->device) == 0)
 			break;
 	if (i <= 0)
-		bb_error_msg_and_die("Can't find interface %s", device);
+		bb_error_msg_and_die("can't find interface %s", device);
 
 	setsin(from, al->addr);
 }
@@ -1156,7 +1156,7 @@ traceroute_main(int argc, char *argv[])
 			if (strcmp(device, al->device) == 0)
 				break;
 		if (i <= 0) {
-			bb_error_msg_and_die("Can't find interface %s", device);
+			bb_error_msg_and_die("can't find interface %s", device);
 		}
 	}
 
diff --git a/networking/udhcp/arpping.c b/networking/udhcp/arpping.c
index 587339f9b..086692082 100644
--- a/networking/udhcp/arpping.c
+++ b/networking/udhcp/arpping.c
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ int arpping(uint32_t yiaddr, uint32_t ip, uint8_t *mac, char *interface)
 	}
 
 	if (setsockopt(s, SOL_SOCKET, SO_BROADCAST, &optval, sizeof(optval)) == -1) {
-		bb_perror_msg("Could not setsocketopt on raw socket");
+		bb_perror_msg("cannot setsocketopt on raw socket");
 		close(s);
 		return -1;
 	}
diff --git a/networking/udhcp/clientpacket.c b/networking/udhcp/clientpacket.c
index f9f5a3b8c..439aa0250 100644
--- a/networking/udhcp/clientpacket.c
+++ b/networking/udhcp/clientpacket.c
@@ -39,16 +39,13 @@ unsigned long random_xid(void)
 {
 	static int initialized;
 	if (!initialized) {
-		int fd;
 		unsigned long seed;
 
-		fd = open("/dev/urandom", 0);
-		if (fd < 0 || read(fd, &seed, sizeof(seed)) < 0) {
-			bb_info_msg("Could not load seed "
+		if (open_read_close("/dev/urandom", &seed, sizeof(seed)) < 0) {
+			bb_info_msg("Cannot load seed "
 				"from /dev/urandom: %s", strerror(errno));
 			seed = time(0);
 		}
-		if (fd >= 0) close(fd);
 		srand(seed);
 		initialized++;
 	}
diff --git a/networking/udhcp/options.c b/networking/udhcp/options.c
index ded0f7b9b..8dba2ef69 100644
--- a/networking/udhcp/options.c
+++ b/networking/udhcp/options.c
@@ -171,6 +171,6 @@ int add_simple_option(uint8_t *optionptr, uint8_t code, uint32_t data)
 		}
 	}
 
-	bb_error_msg("Could not add option 0x%02x", code);
+	bb_error_msg("cannot add option 0x%02x", code);
 	return 0;
 }
diff --git a/networking/udhcp/signalpipe.c b/networking/udhcp/signalpipe.c
index 6c4a9f1f2..bece4193a 100644
--- a/networking/udhcp/signalpipe.c
+++ b/networking/udhcp/signalpipe.c
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ static int signal_pipe[2];
 static void signal_handler(int sig)
 {
 	if (send(signal_pipe[1], &sig, sizeof(sig), MSG_DONTWAIT) < 0)
-		bb_perror_msg("Could not send signal");
+		bb_perror_msg("cannot send signal");
 }
 
 
diff --git a/networking/wget.c b/networking/wget.c
index 264ae4483..7a931f363 100644
--- a/networking/wget.c
+++ b/networking/wget.c
@@ -219,9 +219,7 @@ int wget_main(int argc, char **argv)
 	} else if (opt & WGET_OPT_CONTINUE) {
 		output_fd = open(fname_out, O_WRONLY);
 		if (output_fd >= 0) {
-			beg_range = lseek(output_fd, 0, SEEK_END);
-			if (beg_range == (off_t)-1)
-				bb_perror_msg_and_die("lseek");
+			beg_range = xlseek(output_fd, 0, SEEK_END);
 		}
 		/* File doesn't exist. We do not create file here yet.
 		   We are not sure it exists on remove side */
diff --git a/procps/fuser.c b/procps/fuser.c
index aae24f50c..4906797cf 100644
--- a/procps/fuser.c
+++ b/procps/fuser.c
@@ -292,7 +292,7 @@ static int fuser_kill_pid_list(pid_list *plist, int sig)
 		if(curr->pid > 0 && curr->pid != mypid) {
 			if (kill(curr->pid, sig) != 0) {
 				bb_perror_msg(
-					"Could not kill pid '%d'", curr->pid);
+					"cannot kill pid '%d'", curr->pid);
 				success = 0;
 			}
 		}
@@ -342,7 +342,7 @@ int fuser_main(int argc, char **argv)
 			if(!fuser_file_to_dev_inode(
 				argv[fni[i]], &dev, &inode)) {
 				if (ENABLE_FEATURE_CLEAN_UP) free(inodes);
-				bb_perror_msg_and_die("Could not open '%s'", argv[fni[i]]);
+				bb_perror_msg_and_die("cannot open '%s'", argv[fni[i]]);
 			}
 			fuser_add_inode(inodes, dev, inode);
 		}
diff --git a/procps/top.c b/procps/top.c
index 14a3870a1..06a84c90c 100644
--- a/procps/top.c
+++ b/procps/top.c
@@ -448,7 +448,7 @@ int top_main(int argc, char **argv)
 			memcpy(top + n, p, sizeof(procps_status_t));
 		}
 		if (ntop == 0) {
-			bb_error_msg_and_die("Can't find process info in /proc");
+			bb_error_msg_and_die("can't find process info in /proc");
 		}
 #ifdef CONFIG_FEATURE_TOP_CPU_USAGE_PERCENTAGE
 		if (!prev_hist_count) {
diff --git a/shell/msh.c b/shell/msh.c
index df6f321aa..cb2947137 100644
--- a/shell/msh.c
+++ b/shell/msh.c
@@ -2954,7 +2954,7 @@ static int iosetup(struct ioword *iop, int pipein, int pipeout)
 
 	case IOWRITE | IOCAT:
 		if ((u = open(cp, 1)) >= 0) {
-			lseek(u, (long) 0, 2);
+			lseek(u, (long) 0, SEEK_END);
 			break;
 		}
 	case IOWRITE:
@@ -4686,7 +4686,7 @@ static void pushio(struct ioarg *argp, int (*fn) (struct ioarg *))
 		/* This line appears to be active when running scripts from command line */
 		if ((isatty(e.iop->argp->afile) == 0)
 			&& (e.iop == &iostack[0]
-				|| lseek(e.iop->argp->afile, 0L, 1) != -1)) {
+				|| lseek(e.iop->argp->afile, 0L, SEEK_CUR) != -1)) {
 			if (++bufid == AFID_NOBUF)	/* counter rollover check, AFID_NOBUF = 11111111  */
 				bufid = AFID_ID;	/* AFID_ID = 0 */
 
@@ -4831,7 +4831,7 @@ static int filechar(struct ioarg *ap)
 		if ((i = ap->afid != bp->id) || bp->bufp == bp->ebufp) {
 
 			if (i)
-				lseek(ap->afile, ap->afpos, 0);
+				lseek(ap->afile, ap->afpos, SEEK_SET);
 
 			i = safe_read(ap->afile, bp->buf, sizeof(bp->buf));
 
diff --git a/util-linux/hwclock.c b/util-linux/hwclock.c
index cce31335e..1aff87c11 100644
--- a/util-linux/hwclock.c
+++ b/util-linux/hwclock.c
@@ -51,11 +51,11 @@ static time_t read_rtc(int utc)
 
 	if (( rtc = open ( "/dev/rtc", O_RDONLY )) < 0 ) {
 		if (( rtc = open ( "/dev/misc/rtc", O_RDONLY )) < 0 )
-			bb_perror_msg_and_die ( "Could not access RTC" );
+			bb_perror_msg_and_die ( "cannot access RTC" );
 	}
 	memset ( &tm, 0, sizeof( struct tm ));
 	if ( ioctl ( rtc, RTC_RD_TIME, &tm ) < 0 )
-		bb_perror_msg_and_die ( "Could not read time from RTC" );
+		bb_perror_msg_and_die ( "cannot read time from RTC" );
 	tm.tm_isdst = -1; /* not known */
 
 	close ( rtc );
@@ -85,14 +85,14 @@ static void write_rtc(time_t t, int utc)
 
 	if (( rtc = open ( "/dev/rtc", O_WRONLY )) < 0 ) {
 		if (( rtc = open ( "/dev/misc/rtc", O_WRONLY )) < 0 )
-			bb_perror_msg_and_die ( "Could not access RTC" );
+			bb_perror_msg_and_die ( "cannot access RTC" );
 	}
 
 	tm = *( utc ? gmtime ( &t ) : localtime ( &t ));
 	tm.tm_isdst = 0;
 
 	if ( ioctl ( rtc, RTC_SET_TIME, &tm ) < 0 )
-		bb_perror_msg_and_die ( "Could not set the RTC time" );
+		bb_perror_msg_and_die ( "cannot set the RTC time" );
 
 	close ( rtc );
 }
diff --git a/util-linux/mdev.c b/util-linux/mdev.c
index f43393692..1df144fa9 100644
--- a/util-linux/mdev.c
+++ b/util-linux/mdev.c
@@ -39,10 +39,8 @@ static void make_device(char *path, int delete)
 
 	if (!delete) {
 		strcat(path, "/dev");
-		fd = open(path, O_RDONLY);
-		len = read(fd, temp + 1, 64);
+		len = open_read_close(path, temp + 1, 64);
 		*temp++ = 0;
-		close(fd);
 		if (len < 1) return;
 	}
 
diff --git a/util-linux/readprofile.c b/util-linux/readprofile.c
index b368067ef..e635f6bf3 100644
--- a/util-linux/readprofile.c
+++ b/util-linux/readprofile.c
@@ -44,9 +44,9 @@ static const char defaultpro[] = "/proc/profile";
 int readprofile_main(int argc, char **argv)
 {
 	FILE *map;
-	int proFd;
 	const char *mapFile, *proFile, *mult=0;
-	unsigned long len=0, indx=1;
+	unsigned long indx=1;
+	size_t len;
 	uint64_t add0=0;
 	unsigned int step;
 	unsigned int *buf, total, fn_len;
@@ -97,20 +97,8 @@ int readprofile_main(int argc, char **argv)
 	/*
 	 * Use an fd for the profiling buffer, to skip stdio overhead
 	 */
-
-	proFd = xopen(proFile,O_RDONLY);
-
-	if (((int)(len=lseek(proFd,0,SEEK_END)) < 0)
-	    || (lseek(proFd,0,SEEK_SET) < 0))
-		bb_perror_msg_and_die(proFile);
-
-	buf = xmalloc(len);
-
-	if (read(proFd,buf,len) != len)
-		bb_perror_msg_and_die(proFile);
-
-	close(proFd);
-
+	len = INT_MAX;
+	buf = xmalloc_open_read_close(proFile, &len);
 	if (!optNative) {
 		int entries = len/sizeof(*buf);
 		int big = 0,small = 0,i;
@@ -123,8 +111,8 @@ int readprofile_main(int argc, char **argv)
 				small++;
 		}
 		if (big > small) {
-			bb_error_msg("Assuming reversed byte order. "
-				"Use -n to force native byte order.");
+			bb_error_msg("assuming reversed byte order, "
+				"use -n to force native byte order");
 			for (p = buf; p < buf+entries; p++)
 				for (i = 0; i < sizeof(*buf)/2; i++) {
 					unsigned char *b = (unsigned char *) p;