diff --git a/libraries/app/application.cpp b/libraries/app/application.cpp
index de5bf8a334..953755f64b 100644
--- a/libraries/app/application.cpp
+++ b/libraries/app/application.cpp
@@ -36,11 +36,11 @@
 #include <graphene/net/core_messages.hpp>
 #include <graphene/net/exceptions.hpp>
 
+#include <graphene/utilities/file_util.hpp>
 #include <graphene/utilities/key_conversion.hpp>
 #include <graphene/chain/worker_evaluator.hpp>
 
 #include <fc/asio.hpp>
-#include <fc/io/fstream.hpp>
 #include <fc/rpc/api_connection.hpp>
 #include <fc/rpc/websocket_api.hpp>
 #include <fc/network/resolve.hpp>
@@ -392,8 +392,8 @@ void application_impl::startup()
       ilog("Initializing database...");
       if( _options->count("genesis-json") )
       {
-         std::string genesis_str;
-         fc::read_file_contents( _options->at("genesis-json").as<boost::filesystem::path>(), genesis_str );
+         const std::string genesis_file = _options->at("genesis-json").as<std::string>();
+         std::string genesis_str = graphene::utilities::read_file_contents( genesis_file );
          graphene::chain::genesis_state_type genesis = fc::json::from_string( genesis_str ).as<graphene::chain::genesis_state_type>( 20 );
          bool modified_genesis = false;
          if( _options->count("genesis-timestamp") )
@@ -1039,7 +1039,7 @@ void application::set_program_options(boost::program_options::options_descriptio
           "Endpoint for TLS websocket RPC to listen on")
          ("server-pem,p", bpo::value<string>()->implicit_value("server.pem"), "The TLS certificate file for this server")
          ("server-pem-password,P", bpo::value<string>()->implicit_value(""), "Password for this certificate")
-         ("genesis-json", bpo::value<boost::filesystem::path>(), "File to read Genesis State from")
+         ("genesis-json", bpo::value<std::string>(), "File to read Genesis State from")
          ("dbg-init-key", bpo::value<string>(), "Block signing key to use for init witnesses, overrides genesis file")
          ("api-access", bpo::value<boost::filesystem::path>(), "JSON file specifying API permissions")
          ("io-threads", bpo::value<uint16_t>()->implicit_value(0), "Number of IO threads, default to 0 for auto-configuration")
diff --git a/libraries/chain/CMakeLists.txt b/libraries/chain/CMakeLists.txt
index df07034a28..d15c98c56e 100644
--- a/libraries/chain/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/libraries/chain/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ add_library( graphene_chain
            )
 
 add_dependencies( graphene_chain build_hardfork_hpp )
-target_link_libraries( graphene_chain fc graphene_db graphene_protocol )
+target_link_libraries( graphene_chain fc graphene_db graphene_protocol graphene_utilities )
 target_include_directories( graphene_chain
                             PUBLIC "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/include" "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/include" )
 
diff --git a/libraries/chain/db_management.cpp b/libraries/chain/db_management.cpp
index 9ca657ef6f..faa2446195 100644
--- a/libraries/chain/db_management.cpp
+++ b/libraries/chain/db_management.cpp
@@ -30,8 +30,7 @@
 #include <graphene/chain/operation_history_object.hpp>
 
 #include <graphene/protocol/fee_schedule.hpp>
-
-#include <fc/io/fstream.hpp>
+#include <graphene/utilities/file_util.hpp>
 
 #include <fstream>
 #include <functional>
@@ -182,15 +181,16 @@ void database::open(
          wipe_object_db = true;
       else
       {
-         std::string version_string;
-         fc::read_file_contents( data_dir / "db_version", version_string );
+         std::string version_string = graphene::utilities::read_file_contents( (data_dir / "db_version").string() );
          wipe_object_db = ( version_string != db_version );
       }
       if( wipe_object_db ) {
           ilog("Wiping object_database due to missing or wrong version");
           object_database::wipe( data_dir );
-          std::ofstream version_file( (data_dir / "db_version").generic_string().c_str(),
-                                      std::ios::out | std::ios::binary | std::ios::trunc );
+          std::ofstream version_file( (data_dir / "db_version").generic_string(),
+                                      std::ios::binary | std::ios::trunc );
+          FC_ASSERT( !version_file.fail() && !version_file.bad(), "Failed to open file '${f}'",
+                     ("f",(data_dir / "db_version").string()) );
           version_file.write( db_version.c_str(), db_version.size() );
           version_file.close();
       }
diff --git a/libraries/plugins/snapshot/snapshot.cpp b/libraries/plugins/snapshot/snapshot.cpp
index f74ad5894a..b82e196cfe 100644
--- a/libraries/plugins/snapshot/snapshot.cpp
+++ b/libraries/plugins/snapshot/snapshot.cpp
@@ -25,7 +25,8 @@
 
 #include <graphene/chain/database.hpp>
 
-#include <fc/io/fstream.hpp>
+#include <fstream>
+#include <ios>
 
 using namespace graphene::snapshot_plugin;
 using std::string;
@@ -87,10 +88,11 @@ void snapshot_plugin::plugin_shutdown() {}
 static void create_snapshot( const graphene::chain::database& db, const fc::path& dest )
 {
    ilog("snapshot plugin: creating snapshot");
-   fc::ofstream out;
+   std::ofstream out;
    try
    {
-      out.open( dest );
+      out.open( dest.string(), std::ios_base::binary | std::ios_base::trunc );
+      FC_ASSERT( !out.fail() && !out.bad(), "Failed to open file '${f}'", ("f",dest.string()) );
    }
    catch ( fc::exception& e )
    {
diff --git a/libraries/plugins/witness/witness.cpp b/libraries/plugins/witness/witness.cpp
index d2609625ab..36713becbe 100644
--- a/libraries/plugins/witness/witness.cpp
+++ b/libraries/plugins/witness/witness.cpp
@@ -29,10 +29,10 @@
 #include <graphene/utilities/key_conversion.hpp>
 
 #include <fc/thread/thread.hpp>
-#include <fc/io/fstream.hpp>
 
 #include <boost/filesystem/path.hpp>
 
+#include <fstream>
 #include <iostream>
 
 using namespace graphene::witness_plugin;
@@ -138,9 +138,9 @@ void witness_plugin::plugin_initialize(const boost::program_options::variables_m
       {
          if (fc::exists(key_id_to_wif_pair_file))
          {
-            std::string file_content;
-            fc::read_file_contents(key_id_to_wif_pair_file, file_content);
-            std::istringstream file_content_as_stream(file_content);
+            std::ifstream file_content_as_stream( key_id_to_wif_pair_file.string() );
+            FC_ASSERT( !file_content_as_stream.fail() && !file_content_as_stream.bad(),
+                       "Failed to open file '${f}'", ("f",key_id_to_wif_pair_file.string()) );
 
             std::string line; // key_id_to_wif_pair_string
             while (std::getline(file_content_as_stream, line))
diff --git a/libraries/utilities/CMakeLists.txt b/libraries/utilities/CMakeLists.txt
index 66ed0358f5..5df6b9a33b 100644
--- a/libraries/utilities/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/libraries/utilities/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ endif(NOT GRAPHENE_GIT_REVISION_DESCRIPTION)
 file(GLOB HEADERS "include/graphene/utilities/*.hpp")
 
 set(sources
+   file_util.cpp
    key_conversion.cpp
    string_escape.cpp
    tempdir.cpp
diff --git a/libraries/utilities/file_util.cpp b/libraries/utilities/file_util.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..ad33401d13
--- /dev/null
+++ b/libraries/utilities/file_util.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2015 Cryptonomex, Inc., and contributors.
+ *
+ * The MIT License
+ *
+ * Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
+ * of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
+ * in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
+ * to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
+ * copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
+ * furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+ *
+ * The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
+ * all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+ *
+ * THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+ * IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+ * FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+ * AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+ * LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
+ * OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN
+ * THE SOFTWARE.
+ */
+
+#include <graphene/utilities/file_util.hpp>
+
+#include <fc/exception/exception.hpp>
+
+#include <ios>
+#include <fstream>
+
+namespace graphene { namespace utilities {
+
+   std::string read_file_contents( const std::string& path )
+   {
+       std::ifstream input( path );
+       FC_ASSERT( !input.fail() && !input.bad(), "Failed to open file '${f}'", ("f",path) );
+       input.seekg( 0, std::ios_base::end );
+       const auto size = input.tellg();
+       input.seekg( 0 );
+       std::vector<char> result;
+       result.resize( size );
+       input.read( result.data(), size );
+       FC_ASSERT( size == input.gcount(), "Incomplete file read from '${f}', expected ${s} but got ${c}?!",
+                  ("f",path)("s",size)("c",input.gcount()) );
+       return std::string( result.begin(), result.end() );
+   }
+
+} } // graphene::utilities
diff --git a/libraries/utilities/include/graphene/utilities/file_util.hpp b/libraries/utilities/include/graphene/utilities/file_util.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a60d20c40b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/libraries/utilities/include/graphene/utilities/file_util.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2015 Cryptonomex, Inc., and contributors.
+ *
+ * The MIT License
+ *
+ * Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
+ * of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
+ * in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
+ * to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
+ * copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
+ * furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
+ *
+ * The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
+ * all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+ *
+ * THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
+ * IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
+ * FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
+ * AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
+ * LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
+ * OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN
+ * THE SOFTWARE.
+ */
+#pragma once
+
+#include <string>
+
+namespace graphene { namespace utilities {
+
+   /**
+    * @brief Reads the file at the given path and returns the full contents in a string. Note that the result
+    *        will contain non-printable characters (including 0-bytes) if the file does.
+    * @param path the pathname of the file to read
+    * @return the file contents as a string
+    */
+   std::string read_file_contents( const std::string& path );
+
+} } // graphene::utilities
diff --git a/libraries/wallet/wallet.cpp b/libraries/wallet/wallet.cpp
index 927e4a803d..1f2a2c0d52 100644
--- a/libraries/wallet/wallet.cpp
+++ b/libraries/wallet/wallet.cpp
@@ -49,7 +49,6 @@
 #include <boost/multi_index/hashed_index.hpp>
 
 #include <fc/git_revision.hpp>
-#include <fc/io/fstream.hpp>
 #include <fc/io/json.hpp>
 #include <fc/io/stdio.hpp>
 #include <fc/network/http/websocket.hpp>
diff --git a/libraries/wallet/wallet_api_impl.cpp b/libraries/wallet/wallet_api_impl.cpp
index 5d23c20be4..7ca4d6d0a4 100644
--- a/libraries/wallet/wallet_api_impl.cpp
+++ b/libraries/wallet/wallet_api_impl.cpp
@@ -28,10 +28,11 @@
 #include <fc/popcount.hpp>
 #include <fc/git_revision.hpp>
 #include <fc/thread/scoped_lock.hpp>
-#include <fc/io/fstream.hpp>
 
 #include <graphene/wallet/wallet.hpp>
 #include "wallet_api_impl.hpp"
+
+#include <graphene/utilities/file_util.hpp>
 #include <graphene/utilities/git_revision.hpp>
 
 #ifndef WIN32
@@ -39,6 +40,9 @@
 # include <sys/stat.h>
 #endif
 
+#include <fstream>
+#include <ios>
+
 // explicit instantiation for later use
 namespace fc {
 	template class api<graphene::wallet::wallet_api, identity_member_with_optionals>;
@@ -440,16 +444,16 @@ namespace graphene { namespace wallet { namespace detail {
          // http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Most_vexing_parse
          //
          std::string tmp_wallet_filename = wallet_filename + ".tmp";
-         fc::ofstream outfile{ fc::path( tmp_wallet_filename ) };
+         std::ofstream outfile( tmp_wallet_filename, std::ios_base::trunc );
+         FC_ASSERT( !outfile.fail() && !outfile.bad(), "Failed to open file '${f}'",
+                    ("f",tmp_wallet_filename) );
          outfile.write( data.c_str(), data.length() );
          outfile.flush();
          outfile.close();
 
          wlog( "saved successfully wallet to tmp file ${fn}", ("fn", tmp_wallet_filename) );
 
-         std::string wallet_file_content;
-         fc::read_file_contents(tmp_wallet_filename, wallet_file_content);
-
+         std::string wallet_file_content = graphene::utilities::read_file_contents( tmp_wallet_filename );
          if (wallet_file_content == data) {
             wlog( "validated successfully tmp wallet file ${fn}", ("fn", tmp_wallet_filename) );
 
diff --git a/programs/genesis_util/genesis_update.cpp b/programs/genesis_util/genesis_update.cpp
index 3100e2dd46..f41797dc05 100644
--- a/programs/genesis_util/genesis_update.cpp
+++ b/programs/genesis_util/genesis_update.cpp
@@ -27,13 +27,13 @@
 #include <iostream>
 #include <iterator>
 
-#include <fc/io/fstream.hpp>
 #include <fc/io/json.hpp>
 #include <fc/io/stdio.hpp>
 
 #include <graphene/app/api.hpp>
 #include <graphene/protocol/address.hpp>
 #include <graphene/egenesis/egenesis.hpp>
+#include <graphene/utilities/file_util.hpp>
 #include <graphene/utilities/key_conversion.hpp>
 
 #include <boost/filesystem.hpp>
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ int main( int argc, char** argv )
       bpo::options_description cli_options("BitShares empty blocks");
       cli_options.add_options()
             ("help,h", "Print this help message and exit.")
-            ("genesis-json,g", bpo::value<boost::filesystem::path>(), "File to read genesis state from")
+            ("genesis-json,g", bpo::value<std::string>(), "File to read genesis state from")
             ("out,o", bpo::value<boost::filesystem::path>(), "File to output new genesis to")
             ("dev-account-prefix", bpo::value<std::string>()->default_value("devacct"), "Prefix for dev accounts")
             ("dev-key-prefix", bpo::value<std::string>()->default_value("devkey-"), "Prefix for dev key")
@@ -102,10 +102,9 @@ int main( int argc, char** argv )
       genesis_state_type genesis;
       if( options.count("genesis-json") )
       {
-         fc::path genesis_json_filename = options["genesis-json"].as<boost::filesystem::path>();
-         std::cerr << "update_genesis:  Reading genesis from file " << genesis_json_filename.preferred_string() << "\n";
-         std::string genesis_json;
-         read_file_contents( genesis_json_filename, genesis_json );
+         std::string genesis_json_filename = options["genesis-json"].as<std::string>();
+         std::cerr << "update_genesis:  Reading genesis from file " << genesis_json_filename << "\n";
+         std::string genesis_json = graphene::utilities::read_file_contents( genesis_json_filename );
          genesis = fc::json::from_string( genesis_json ).as< genesis_state_type >(20);
       }
       else
diff --git a/tests/common/genesis_file_util.hpp b/tests/common/genesis_file_util.hpp
index a87d9585af..1194f6e7b5 100644
--- a/tests/common/genesis_file_util.hpp
+++ b/tests/common/genesis_file_util.hpp
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ namespace graphene { namespace app { namespace detail {
 /// @param directory the directory to place the file "genesis.json"
 /// @returns the full path to the file
 ////////
-boost::filesystem::path create_genesis_file(fc::temp_directory& directory) {
+std::string create_genesis_file(fc::temp_directory& directory) {
    boost::filesystem::path genesis_path = boost::filesystem::path{directory.path().generic_string()} / "genesis.json";
    fc::path genesis_out = genesis_path;
    graphene::chain::genesis_state_type genesis_state = graphene::app::detail::create_example_genesis();
@@ -42,5 +42,5 @@ boost::filesystem::path create_genesis_file(fc::temp_directory& directory) {
    */
 
    fc::json::save_to_file(genesis_state, genesis_out);
-   return genesis_path;
+   return genesis_path.string();
 }
diff --git a/tests/generate_empty_blocks/main.cpp b/tests/generate_empty_blocks/main.cpp
index bcb831725c..3dad354043 100644
--- a/tests/generate_empty_blocks/main.cpp
+++ b/tests/generate_empty_blocks/main.cpp
@@ -27,12 +27,12 @@
 #include <iostream>
 #include <iterator>
 
-#include <fc/io/fstream.hpp>
 #include <fc/io/json.hpp>
 #include <fc/io/stdio.hpp>
 
 #include <graphene/app/api.hpp>
 #include <graphene/egenesis/egenesis.hpp>
+#include <graphene/utilities/file_util.hpp>
 #include <graphene/utilities/key_conversion.hpp>
 
 #include <boost/filesystem.hpp>
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ int main( int argc, char** argv )
       cli_options.add_options()
             ("help,h", "Print this help message and exit.")
             ("data-dir", bpo::value<boost::filesystem::path>()->default_value("empty_blocks_data_dir"), "Directory containing generator database")
-            ("genesis-json,g", bpo::value<boost::filesystem::path>(), "File to read genesis state from")
+            ("genesis-json,g", bpo::value<std::string>(), "File to read genesis state from")
             ("genesis-time,t", bpo::value<uint32_t>()->default_value(0), "Timestamp for genesis state (0=use value from file/example)")
             ("num-blocks,n", bpo::value<uint32_t>()->default_value(1000000), "Number of blocks to generate")
             ("miss-rate,r", bpo::value<uint32_t>()->default_value(3), "Percentage of blocks to miss")
@@ -96,10 +96,9 @@ int main( int argc, char** argv )
       genesis_state_type genesis;
       if( options.count("genesis-json") )
       {
-         fc::path genesis_json_filename = options["genesis-json"].as<boost::filesystem::path>();
-         std::cerr << "embed_genesis:  Reading genesis from file " << genesis_json_filename.preferred_string() << "\n";
-         std::string genesis_json;
-         read_file_contents( genesis_json_filename, genesis_json );
+         std::string genesis_json_filename = options["genesis-json"].as<std::string>();
+         std::cerr << "generate_empty_blocks:  Reading genesis from file " << genesis_json_filename << "\n";
+         std::string genesis_json = graphene::utilities::read_file_contents( genesis_json_filename );
          genesis = fc::json::from_string( genesis_json ).as< genesis_state_type >(20);
       }
       else