Merge pull request #1052 from giampaolo/1040-fix-unicode

#1040 fix unicode

19 files changed, 486 insertions, 359 deletions

diff --git a/HISTORY.rst b/HISTORY.rst
index c193dfc8..9a3b1793 100644
--- a/HISTORY.rst
+++ b/HISTORY.rst
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
   Process.as_dict(): "attrs" and "ad_value". With this you can iterate over all
   processes in one shot without needing to catch NoSuchProcess and do list/dict
   comprehensions.
+- 1040_: implemented full unicode support.
 
 **Bug fixes**
 
@@ -29,15 +30,31 @@
   properly handle unicode paths and may raise UnicodeDecodeError.
 - 1033_: [OSX, FreeBSD] memory leak for net_connections() and
   Process.connections() when retrieving UNIX sockets (kind='unix').
+- 1040_: fixed many unicode related issues such as UnicodeDecodeError on
+  Python 3 + UNIX and invalid encoded data on Windows.
+- 1046_: [Windows] disk_partitions() on Windows overrides user's SetErrorMode.
+- 1047_: [Windows] Process username(): memory leak in case exception is thrown.
+- 1048_: [Windows] users()'s host field report an invalid IP address.
+
+**Porting notes**
+
 - 1039_: returned types consolidation:
   - Windows / Process.cpu_times(): fields #3 and #4 were int instead of float
   - Linux / FreeBSD: connections('unix'): raddr is now set to "" instead of
     None
   - OpenBSD: connections('unix'): laddr and raddr are now set to "" instead of
     None
+- 1040_: all strings are encoded by using OS fs encoding.
+- 1040_: the following Windows APIs returned unicode and now they return str:
+  - Process.memory_maps().path
+  - WindosService.bin_path()
+  - WindosService.description()
+  - WindosService.display_name()
+  - WindosService.username()
 - 1046_: [Windows] disk_partitions() on Windows overrides user's SetErrorMode.
 - 1047_: [Windows] Process username(): memory leak in case exception is thrown.
 - 1050_: [Windows] Process.memory_maps memory() leaks memory.
+>>>>>>> master
 
 *2017-04-10*
 
diff --git a/docs/index.rst b/docs/index.rst
index 16301958..509d5f9c 100644
--- a/docs/index.rst
+++ b/docs/index.rst
@@ -2239,6 +2239,44 @@ Constants
       >>> if psutil.version_info >= (4, 5):
       ...    pass
 
+----
+
+Unicode
+=======
+
+Starting from version 5.3.0 psutil
+`fully supports unicode <https://github.com/giampaolo/psutil/issues/1040>`__.
+The notes below apply to *any* method returning a string such as
+:meth:`Process.exe` or :meth:`Process.cwd`, including non-filesystem related
+methods such as :meth:`Process.username`:
+
+* all strings are encoded by using the OS filesystem encoding which varies
+  depending on the platform you're on (e.g. UTF-8 on Linux, mbcs on Win)
+* no API call is supposed to crash with ``UnicodeDecodeError``
+* instead, in case of badly encoded data returned by the OS, the following error handlers are used to replace the bad characters in the string:
+    * Python 2: ``"replace"``
+    * Python 3: ``"surrogatescape"`` on POSIX and ``"replace"`` on Windows
+* on Python 2 all APIs return bytes (``str`` type), never ``unicode``
+* on Python 2 you can go back to unicode by doing:
+
+.. code-block:: python
+
+    >>> unicode(p.exe(), sys.getdefaultencoding(), errors="replace")
+
+Example which filters processes with a funky name working with Python 2 and 3::
+
+    # -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
+    import psutil, sys
+
+    PY3 = sys.version_info[0] == 2
+    LOOKFOR = u"ƒőő"
+    for proc in psutil.process_iter(attrs=['name']):
+        name = proc.info['name']
+        if not PY3:
+            name = unicode(name, sys.getdefaultencoding(), errors="replace")
+        if LOOKFOR == name:
+             print("process %s found" % p)
+
 Recipes
 =======
 
diff --git a/psutil/_psutil_bsd.c b/psutil/_psutil_bsd.c
index 537df151..43189a21 100644
--- a/psutil/_psutil_bsd.c
+++ b/psutil/_psutil_bsd.c
@@ -215,11 +215,7 @@ psutil_proc_oneshot_info(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
 #elif defined(PSUTIL_OPENBSD) || defined(PSUTIL_NETBSD)
     sprintf(str, "%s", kp.p_comm);
 #endif
-#if PY_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3
     py_name = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(str);
-#else
-    py_name = Py_BuildValue("s", str);
-#endif
     if (! py_name) {
         // Likely a decoding error. We don't want to fail the whole
         // operation. The python module may retry with proc_name().
@@ -372,12 +368,7 @@ psutil_proc_name(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
 #elif defined(PSUTIL_OPENBSD) || defined(PSUTIL_NETBSD)
     sprintf(str, "%s", kp.p_comm);
 #endif
-
-#if PY_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3
     return PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(str);
-#else
-    return Py_BuildValue("s", str);
-#endif
 }
 
 
@@ -472,6 +463,7 @@ psutil_proc_open_files(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
     struct kinfo_file *kif;
     kinfo_proc kipp;
     PyObject *py_tuple = NULL;
+    PyObject *py_path = NULL;
     PyObject *py_retlist = PyList_New(0);
 
     if (py_retlist == NULL)
@@ -507,12 +499,16 @@ psutil_proc_open_files(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
         // XXX - it appears path is not exposed in the kinfo_file struct.
         path = "";
 #endif
+        py_path = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(path);
+        if (! py_path)
+            goto error;
         if (regular == 1) {
-            py_tuple = Py_BuildValue("(si)", path, fd);
+            py_tuple = Py_BuildValue("(Oi)", py_path, fd);
             if (py_tuple == NULL)
                 goto error;
             if (PyList_Append(py_retlist, py_tuple))
                 goto error;
+            Py_DECREF(py_path);
             Py_DECREF(py_tuple);
         }
     }
@@ -546,6 +542,8 @@ psutil_disk_partitions(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
     struct statfs *fs = NULL;
 #endif
     PyObject *py_retlist = PyList_New(0);
+    PyObject *py_dev = NULL;
+    PyObject *py_mountp = NULL;
     PyObject *py_tuple = NULL;
 
     if (py_retlist == NULL)
@@ -658,15 +656,23 @@ psutil_disk_partitions(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
         if (flags & MNT_NODEVMTIME)
             strlcat(opts, ",nodevmtime", sizeof(opts));
 #endif
-        py_tuple = Py_BuildValue("(ssss)",
-                                 fs[i].f_mntfromname,  // device
-                                 fs[i].f_mntonname,    // mount point
+        py_dev = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(fs[i].f_mntfromname);
+        if (! py_dev)
+            goto error;
+        py_mountp = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(fs[i].f_mntonname);
+        if (! py_mountp)
+            goto error;
+        py_tuple = Py_BuildValue("(OOss)",
+                                 py_dev,               // device
+                                 py_mountp,            // mount point
                                  fs[i].f_fstypename,   // fs type
                                  opts);                // options
         if (!py_tuple)
             goto error;
         if (PyList_Append(py_retlist, py_tuple))
             goto error;
+        Py_DECREF(py_dev);
+        Py_DECREF(py_mountp);
         Py_DECREF(py_tuple);
     }
 
@@ -674,6 +680,8 @@ psutil_disk_partitions(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
     return py_retlist;
 
 error:
+    Py_XDECREF(py_dev);
+    Py_XDECREF(py_mountp);
     Py_XDECREF(py_tuple);
     Py_DECREF(py_retlist);
     if (fs != NULL)
@@ -783,6 +791,9 @@ error:
 static PyObject *
 psutil_users(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
     PyObject *py_retlist = PyList_New(0);
+    PyObject *py_username = NULL;
+    PyObject *py_tty = NULL;
+    PyObject *py_hostname = NULL;
     PyObject *py_tuple = NULL;
 
     if (py_retlist == NULL)
@@ -801,12 +812,21 @@ psutil_users(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
     while (fread(&ut, sizeof(ut), 1, fp) == 1) {
         if (*ut.ut_name == '\0')
             continue;
+        py_username = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(ut.ut_name);
+        if (! py_username)
+            goto error;
+        py_tty = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(ut.ut_line);
+        if (! py_tty)
+            goto error;
+        py_hostname = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(ut.ut_host);
+        if (! py_hostname)
+            goto error;
         py_tuple = Py_BuildValue(
-            "(sssfi)",
-            ut.ut_name,         // username
-            ut.ut_line,         // tty
-            ut.ut_host,         // hostname
-           (float)ut.ut_time,   // start time
+            "(OOOfi)",
+            py_username,        // username
+            py_tty,             // tty
+            py_hostname,        // hostname
+            (float)ut.ut_time,  // start time
 #ifdef PSUTIL_OPENBSD
             -1                  // process id (set to None later)
 #else
@@ -821,22 +841,33 @@ psutil_users(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
             fclose(fp);
             goto error;
         }
+        Py_DECREF(py_username);
+        Py_DECREF(py_tty);
+        Py_DECREF(py_hostname);
         Py_DECREF(py_tuple);
     }
 
     fclose(fp);
 #else
     struct utmpx *utx;
-
     setutxent();
     while ((utx = getutxent()) != NULL) {
         if (utx->ut_type != USER_PROCESS)
             continue;
+        py_username = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(utx->ut_user);
+        if (! py_username)
+            goto error;
+        py_tty = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(utx->ut_line);
+        if (! py_tty)
+            goto error;
+        py_hostname = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(utx->ut_host);
+        if (! py_hostname)
+            goto error;
         py_tuple = Py_BuildValue(
-            "(sssfi)",
-            utx->ut_user,  // username
-            utx->ut_line,  // tty
-            utx->ut_host,  // hostname
+            "(OOOfi)",
+            py_username,   // username
+            py_tty,        // tty
+            py_hostname,   // hostname
             (float)utx->ut_tv.tv_sec,  // start time
 #ifdef PSUTIL_OPENBSD
             -1             // process id (set to None later)
@@ -853,6 +884,9 @@ psutil_users(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
             endutxent();
             goto error;
         }
+        Py_DECREF(py_username);
+        Py_DECREF(py_tty);
+        Py_DECREF(py_hostname);
         Py_DECREF(py_tuple);
     }
 
@@ -861,6 +895,9 @@ psutil_users(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
     return py_retlist;
 
 error:
+    Py_XDECREF(py_username);
+    Py_XDECREF(py_tty);
+    Py_XDECREF(py_hostname);
     Py_XDECREF(py_tuple);
     Py_DECREF(py_retlist);
     return NULL;
diff --git a/psutil/_psutil_common.c b/psutil/_psutil_common.c
index c8d736e8..bcbd623b 100644
--- a/psutil/_psutil_common.c
+++ b/psutil/_psutil_common.c
@@ -34,3 +34,22 @@ AccessDenied(void) {
     Py_XDECREF(exc);
     return NULL;
 }
+
+
+/*
+ * Backport of unicode FS APIs from Python 3.
+ * On Python 2 we just return a plain byte string
+ * which is never supposed to raise decoding errors.
+ * See: https://github.com/giampaolo/psutil/issues/1040
+ */
+#if PY_MAJOR_VERSION < 3
+PyObject *
+PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(char *s) {
+    return PyString_FromString(s);
+}
+
+PyObject *
+PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefaultAndSize(char *s, Py_ssize_t size) {
+    return PyString_FromStringAndSize(s, size);
+}
+#endif
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/psutil/_psutil_common.h b/psutil/_psutil_common.h
index 43021a72..0507458a 100644
--- a/psutil/_psutil_common.h
+++ b/psutil/_psutil_common.h
@@ -8,3 +8,7 @@
 
 PyObject* AccessDenied(void);
 PyObject* NoSuchProcess(void);
+#if PY_MAJOR_VERSION < 3
+PyObject* PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(char *s);
+PyObject* PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefaultAndSize(char *s, Py_ssize_t size);
+#endif
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/psutil/_psutil_linux.c b/psutil/_psutil_linux.c
index 9abe44e0..1a96fea0 100644
--- a/psutil/_psutil_linux.c
+++ b/psutil/_psutil_linux.c
@@ -195,8 +195,10 @@ static PyObject *
 psutil_disk_partitions(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
     FILE *file = NULL;
     struct mntent *entry;
-    PyObject *py_retlist = PyList_New(0);
+    PyObject *py_dev = NULL;
+    PyObject *py_mountp = NULL;
     PyObject *py_tuple = NULL;
+    PyObject *py_retlist = PyList_New(0);
 
     if (py_retlist == NULL)
         return NULL;
@@ -215,15 +217,23 @@ psutil_disk_partitions(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
             PyErr_Format(PyExc_RuntimeError, "getmntent() syscall failed");
             goto error;
         }
-        py_tuple = Py_BuildValue("(ssss)",
-                                 entry->mnt_fsname,  // device
-                                 entry->mnt_dir,     // mount point
+        py_dev = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(entry->mnt_fsname);
+        if (! py_dev)
+            goto error;
+        py_mountp = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(entry->mnt_dir);
+        if (! py_mountp)
+            goto error;
+        py_tuple = Py_BuildValue("(OOss)",
+                                 py_dev,             // device
+                                 py_mountp,          // mount point
                                  entry->mnt_type,    // fs type
                                  entry->mnt_opts);   // options
         if (! py_tuple)
             goto error;
         if (PyList_Append(py_retlist, py_tuple))
             goto error;
+        Py_DECREF(py_dev);
+        Py_DECREF(py_mountp);
         Py_DECREF(py_tuple);
     }
     endmntent(file);
@@ -232,6 +242,8 @@ psutil_disk_partitions(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
 error:
     if (file != NULL)
         endmntent(file);
+    Py_XDECREF(py_dev);
+    Py_XDECREF(py_mountp);
     Py_XDECREF(py_tuple);
     Py_DECREF(py_retlist);
     return NULL;
@@ -439,6 +451,9 @@ psutil_users(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
     struct utmp *ut;
     PyObject *py_retlist = PyList_New(0);
     PyObject *py_tuple = NULL;
+    PyObject *py_username = NULL;
+    PyObject *py_tty = NULL;
+    PyObject *py_hostname = NULL;
     PyObject *py_user_proc = NULL;
 
     if (py_retlist == NULL)
@@ -451,11 +466,20 @@ psutil_users(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
             py_user_proc = Py_True;
         else
             py_user_proc = Py_False;
+        py_username = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(ut->ut_user);
+        if (! py_username)
+            goto error;
+        py_tty = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(ut->ut_line);
+        if (! py_tty)
+            goto error;
+        py_hostname = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(ut->ut_host);
+        if (! py_hostname)
+            goto error;
         py_tuple = Py_BuildValue(
-            "(sssfOi)",
-            ut->ut_user,              // username
-            ut->ut_line,              // tty
-            ut->ut_host,              // hostname
+            "(OOOfOi)",
+            py_username,              // username
+            py_tty,                   // tty
+            py_username,              // hostname
             (float)ut->ut_tv.tv_sec,  // tstamp
             py_user_proc,             // (bool) user process
             ut->ut_pid                // process id
@@ -464,14 +488,19 @@ psutil_users(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
             goto error;
         if (PyList_Append(py_retlist, py_tuple))
             goto error;
+        Py_DECREF(py_username);
+        Py_DECREF(py_tty);
+        Py_DECREF(py_hostname);
         Py_DECREF(py_tuple);
     }
     endutent();
     return py_retlist;
 
 error:
+    Py_XDECREF(py_username);
+    Py_XDECREF(py_tty);
+    Py_XDECREF(py_hostname);
     Py_XDECREF(py_tuple);
-    Py_XDECREF(py_user_proc);
     Py_DECREF(py_retlist);
     endutent();
     return NULL;
diff --git a/psutil/_psutil_osx.c b/psutil/_psutil_osx.c
index db1f997a..a831441a 100644
--- a/psutil/_psutil_osx.c
+++ b/psutil/_psutil_osx.c
@@ -138,11 +138,7 @@ psutil_proc_kinfo_oneshot(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
     if (psutil_get_kinfo_proc(pid, &kp) == -1)
         return NULL;
 
-#if PY_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3
     py_name = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(kp.kp_proc.p_comm);
-#else
-    py_name = Py_BuildValue("s", kp.kp_proc.p_comm);
-#endif
     if (! py_name) {
         // Likely a decoding error. We don't want to fail the whole
         // operation. The python module may retry with proc_name().
@@ -224,11 +220,7 @@ psutil_proc_name(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
         return NULL;
     if (psutil_get_kinfo_proc(pid, &kp) == -1)
         return NULL;
-#if PY_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3
     return PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(kp.kp_proc.p_comm);
-#else
-    return Py_BuildValue("s", kp.kp_proc.p_comm);
-#endif
 }
 
 
@@ -249,11 +241,7 @@ psutil_proc_cwd(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
         return NULL;
     }
 
-#if PY_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3
     return PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(pathinfo.pvi_cdir.vip_path);
-#else
-    return Py_BuildValue("s", pathinfo.pvi_cdir.vip_path);
-#endif
 }
 
 
@@ -277,11 +265,7 @@ psutil_proc_exe(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
             psutil_raise_for_pid(pid, "proc_pidpath() syscall failed");
         return NULL;
     }
-#if PY_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3
     return PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(buf);
-#else
-    return Py_BuildValue("s", buf);
-#endif
 }
 
 
@@ -337,6 +321,7 @@ psutil_proc_memory_maps(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
     vm_size_t size = 0;
 
     PyObject *py_tuple = NULL;
+    PyObject *py_path = NULL;
     PyObject *py_list = PyList_New(0);
 
     if (py_list == NULL)
@@ -431,11 +416,14 @@ psutil_proc_memory_maps(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
                 }
             }
 
+            py_path = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(buf);
+            if (! py_path)
+                goto error;
             py_tuple = Py_BuildValue(
-                "sssIIIIIH",
+                "ssOIIIIIH",
                 addr_str,                                 // "start-end"address
                 perms,                                    // "rwx" permissions
-                buf,                                      // path
+                py_path,                                  // path
                 info.pages_resident * pagesize,           // rss
                 info.pages_shared_now_private * pagesize, // private
                 info.pages_swapped_out * pagesize,        // swapped
@@ -448,6 +436,7 @@ psutil_proc_memory_maps(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
             if (PyList_Append(py_list, py_tuple))
                 goto error;
             Py_DECREF(py_tuple);
+            Py_DECREF(py_path);
         }
 
         // increment address for the next map/file
@@ -463,6 +452,7 @@ error:
     if (task != MACH_PORT_NULL)
         mach_port_deallocate(mach_task_self(), task);
     Py_XDECREF(py_tuple);
+    Py_XDECREF(py_path);
     Py_DECREF(py_list);
     return NULL;
 }
@@ -863,8 +853,10 @@ psutil_disk_partitions(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
     uint64_t flags;
     char opts[400];
     struct statfs *fs = NULL;
-    PyObject *py_retlist = PyList_New(0);
+    PyObject *py_dev = NULL;
+    PyObject *py_mountp = NULL;
     PyObject *py_tuple = NULL;
+    PyObject *py_retlist = PyList_New(0);
 
     if (py_retlist == NULL)
         return NULL;
@@ -949,15 +941,24 @@ psutil_disk_partitions(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
         if (flags & MNT_CMDFLAGS)
             strlcat(opts, ",cmdflags", sizeof(opts));
 
+        py_dev = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(fs[i].f_mntfromname);
+        if (! py_dev)
+            goto error;
+        py_mountp = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(fs[i].f_mntonname);
+        if (! py_mountp)
+            goto error;
         py_tuple = Py_BuildValue(
-            "(ssss)", fs[i].f_mntfromname,  // device
-            fs[i].f_mntonname,    // mount point
+            "(OOss)",
+            py_dev,               // device
+            py_mountp,            // mount point
             fs[i].f_fstypename,   // fs type
             opts);                // options
         if (!py_tuple)
             goto error;
         if (PyList_Append(py_retlist, py_tuple))
             goto error;
+        Py_DECREF(py_dev);
+        Py_DECREF(py_mountp);
         Py_DECREF(py_tuple);
     }
 
@@ -965,6 +966,8 @@ psutil_disk_partitions(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
     return py_retlist;
 
 error:
+    Py_XDECREF(py_dev);
+    Py_XDECREF(py_mountp);
     Py_XDECREF(py_tuple);
     Py_DECREF(py_retlist);
     if (fs != NULL)
@@ -1151,11 +1154,7 @@ psutil_proc_open_files(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
             // --- /errors checking
 
             // --- construct python list
-#if PY_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3
             py_path = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(vi.pvip.vip_path);
-#else
-            py_path = Py_BuildValue("s", vi.pvip.vip_path);
-#endif
             if (! py_path)
                 goto error;
             py_tuple = Py_BuildValue(
@@ -1351,28 +1350,14 @@ psutil_proc_connections(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
                 Py_DECREF(py_tuple);
             }
             else if (family == AF_UNIX) {
-                // decode laddr
-#if PY_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3
-                    py_laddr = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(
-#else
-                    py_laddr = Py_BuildValue("s",
-#endif
-                        si.psi.soi_proto.pri_un.unsi_addr.ua_sun.sun_path
-                    );
-                    if (!py_laddr)
-                        goto error;
-
-                // decode raddr
-#if PY_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3
-                    py_raddr = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(
-#else
-                    py_raddr = Py_BuildValue("s",
-#endif
-                        si.psi.soi_proto.pri_un.unsi_caddr.ua_sun.sun_path
-                    );
-                    if (!py_raddr)
-                        goto error;
-
+                py_laddr = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(
+                    si.psi.soi_proto.pri_un.unsi_addr.ua_sun.sun_path);
+                if (!py_laddr)
+                    goto error;
+                py_raddr = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(
+                    si.psi.soi_proto.pri_un.unsi_caddr.ua_sun.sun_path);
+                if (!py_raddr)
+                    goto error;
                 // construct the python list
                 py_tuple = Py_BuildValue(
                     "(iiiOOi)",
@@ -1705,19 +1690,31 @@ error:
 static PyObject *
 psutil_users(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
     struct utmpx *utx;
-    PyObject *py_retlist = PyList_New(0);
+    PyObject *py_username = NULL;
+    PyObject *py_tty = NULL;
+    PyObject *py_hostname = NULL;
     PyObject *py_tuple = NULL;
+    PyObject *py_retlist = PyList_New(0);
 
     if (py_retlist == NULL)
         return NULL;
     while ((utx = getutxent()) != NULL) {
         if (utx->ut_type != USER_PROCESS)
             continue;
+        py_username = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(utx->ut_user);
+        if (! py_username)
+            goto error;
+        py_tty = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(utx->ut_line);
+        if (! py_tty)
+            goto error;
+        py_hostname = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(utx->ut_host);
+        if (! py_hostname)
+            goto error;
         py_tuple = Py_BuildValue(
-            "(sssfi)",
-            utx->ut_user,             // username
-            utx->ut_line,             // tty
-            utx->ut_host,             // hostname
+            "(OOOfi)",
+            py_username,              // username
+            py_tty,                   // tty
+            py_hostname,              // hostname
             (float)utx->ut_tv.tv_sec, // start time
             utx->ut_pid               // process id
         );
@@ -1729,6 +1726,9 @@ psutil_users(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
             endutxent();
             goto error;
         }
+        Py_DECREF(py_username);
+        Py_DECREF(py_tty);
+        Py_DECREF(py_hostname);
         Py_DECREF(py_tuple);
     }
 
@@ -1736,6 +1736,9 @@ psutil_users(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
     return py_retlist;
 
 error:
+    Py_XDECREF(py_username);
+    Py_XDECREF(py_tty);
+    Py_XDECREF(py_hostname);
     Py_XDECREF(py_tuple);
     Py_DECREF(py_retlist);
     return NULL;
diff --git a/psutil/_psutil_sunos.c b/psutil/_psutil_sunos.c
index 3e2262ff..c205a3ac 100644
--- a/psutil/_psutil_sunos.c
+++ b/psutil/_psutil_sunos.c
@@ -123,6 +123,7 @@ psutil_proc_name_and_args(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
     const char *procfs_path;
     PyObject *py_name;
     PyObject *py_args;
+    PyObject *py_retlist;
 
     if (! PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "is", &pid, &procfs_path))
         return NULL;
@@ -130,17 +131,24 @@ psutil_proc_name_and_args(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
     if (! psutil_file_to_struct(path, (void *)&info, sizeof(info)))
         return NULL;
 
-#if PY_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3
     py_name = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(info.pr_fname);
     if (!py_name)
-        return NULL;
+        goto error;
     py_args = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(info.pr_psargs);
     if (!py_args)
-        return NULL;
-    return Py_BuildValue("OO", py_name, py_args);
-#else
-    return Py_BuildValue("ss", info.pr_fname, info.pr_psargs);
-#endif
+        goto error;
+    py_retlist = Py_BuildValue("OO", py_name, py_args);
+    if (!py_retlist)
+        goto error;
+    Py_DECREF(py_name);
+    Py_DECREF(py_args);
+    return py_retlist;
+
+error:
+    Py_XDECREF(py_name);
+    Py_XDECREF(py_args);
+    Py_XDECREF(py_retlist);
+    return NULL;
 }
 
 
@@ -450,9 +458,12 @@ psutil_swap_mem(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
 static PyObject *
 psutil_users(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
     struct utmpx *ut;
-    PyObject *py_retlist = PyList_New(0);
     PyObject *py_tuple = NULL;
+    PyObject *py_username = NULL;
+    PyObject *py_tty = NULL;
+    PyObject *py_hostname = NULL;
     PyObject *py_user_proc = NULL;
+    PyObject *py_retlist = PyList_New(0);
 
     if (py_retlist == NULL)
         return NULL;
@@ -462,11 +473,20 @@ psutil_users(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
             py_user_proc = Py_True;
         else
             py_user_proc = Py_False;
+        py_username = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(ut->ut_user);
+        if (! py_username)
+            goto error;
+        py_tty = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(ut->ut_line);
+        if (! py_tty)
+            goto error;
+        py_hostname = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(ut->ut_host);
+        if (! py_hostname)
+            goto error;
         py_tuple = Py_BuildValue(
-            "(sssfOi)",
-            ut->ut_user,              // username
-            ut->ut_line,              // tty
-            ut->ut_host,              // hostname
+            "(OOOfOi)",
+            py_username,              // username
+            py_tty,                   // tty
+            py_hostname,              // hostname
             (float)ut->ut_tv.tv_sec,  // tstamp
             py_user_proc,             // (bool) user process
             ut->ut_pid                // process id
@@ -475,6 +495,9 @@ psutil_users(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
             goto error;
         if (PyList_Append(py_retlist, py_tuple))
             goto error;
+        Py_DECREF(py_username);
+        Py_DECREF(py_tty);
+        Py_DECREF(py_hostname);
         Py_DECREF(py_tuple);
     }
     endutent();
@@ -482,6 +505,9 @@ psutil_users(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
     return py_retlist;
 
 error:
+    Py_XDECREF(py_username);
+    Py_XDECREF(py_tty);
+    Py_XDECREF(py_hostname);
     Py_XDECREF(py_tuple);
     Py_DECREF(py_retlist);
     if (ut != NULL)
@@ -498,8 +524,10 @@ static PyObject *
 psutil_disk_partitions(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
     FILE *file;
     struct mnttab mt;
-    PyObject *py_retlist = PyList_New(0);
+    PyObject *py_dev = NULL;
+    PyObject *py_mountp = NULL;
     PyObject *py_tuple = NULL;
+    PyObject *py_retlist = PyList_New(0);
 
     if (py_retlist == NULL)
         return NULL;
@@ -511,23 +539,32 @@ psutil_disk_partitions(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
     }
 
     while (getmntent(file, &mt) == 0) {
+        py_dev = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(mt.mnt_special);
+        if (! py_dev)
+            goto error;
+        py_mountp = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(mt.mnt_mountp);
+        if (! py_mountp)
+            goto error;
         py_tuple = Py_BuildValue(
-            "(ssss)",
-            mt.mnt_special,   // device
-            mt.mnt_mountp,    // mount point
+            "(OOss)",
+            py_dev,           // device
+            py_mountp,        // mount point
             mt.mnt_fstype,    // fs type
             mt.mnt_mntopts);  // options
         if (py_tuple == NULL)
             goto error;
         if (PyList_Append(py_retlist, py_tuple))
             goto error;
+        Py_DECREF(py_dev);
+        Py_DECREF(py_mountp);
         Py_DECREF(py_tuple);
-
     }
     fclose(file);
     return py_retlist;
 
 error:
+    Py_XDECREF(py_dev);
+    Py_XDECREF(py_mountp);
     Py_XDECREF(py_tuple);
     Py_DECREF(py_retlist);
     if (file != NULL)
@@ -668,6 +705,7 @@ psutil_proc_memory_maps(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
     const char *procfs_path;
 
     PyObject *py_tuple = NULL;
+    PyObject *py_path = NULL;
     PyObject *py_retlist = PyList_New(0);
 
     if (py_retlist == NULL)
@@ -746,12 +784,15 @@ psutil_proc_memory_maps(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
             }
         }
 
+        py_path = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(name);
+        if (! py_path)
+            goto error;
         py_tuple = Py_BuildValue(
-            "iisslll",
+            "iisOlll",
             p->pr_vaddr,
             pr_addr_sz,
             perms,
-            name,
+            py_path,
             (long)p->pr_rss * p->pr_pagesize,
             (long)p->pr_anon * p->pr_pagesize,
             (long)p->pr_locked * p->pr_pagesize);
@@ -759,6 +800,7 @@ psutil_proc_memory_maps(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
             goto error;
         if (PyList_Append(py_retlist, py_tuple))
             goto error;
+        Py_DECREF(py_path);
         Py_DECREF(py_tuple);
 
         // increment pointer
@@ -773,6 +815,7 @@ error:
     if (fd != -1)
         close(fd);
     Py_XDECREF(py_tuple);
+    Py_XDECREF(py_path);
     Py_DECREF(py_retlist);
     if (xmap != NULL)
         free(xmap);
diff --git a/psutil/_psutil_windows.c b/psutil/_psutil_windows.c
index 20d20b82..53deadcc 100644
--- a/psutil/_psutil_windows.c
+++ b/psutil/_psutil_windows.c
@@ -669,7 +669,7 @@ psutil_proc_exe(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
         return PyErr_SetFromWindowsErr(0);
     }
     CloseHandle(hProcess);
-    return Py_BuildValue("u", exe);
+    return PyUnicode_FromWideChar(exe, wcslen(exe));
 }
 
 
@@ -1309,13 +1309,14 @@ psutil_proc_username(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
     HANDLE tokenHandle = NULL;
     PTOKEN_USER user = NULL;
     ULONG bufferSize;
-    PTSTR name = NULL;
+    WCHAR *name = NULL;
+    WCHAR *domainName = NULL;
     ULONG nameSize;
-    PTSTR domainName = NULL;
     ULONG domainNameSize;
     SID_NAME_USE nameUse;
-    PTSTR fullName = NULL;
-    PyObject *py_unicode;
+    PyObject *py_username;
+    PyObject *py_domain;
+    PyObject *py_tuple;
 
     if (! PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "l", &pid))
         return NULL;
@@ -1363,18 +1364,18 @@ psutil_proc_username(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
     nameSize = 0x100;
     domainNameSize = 0x100;
     while (1) {
-        name = malloc(nameSize * sizeof(TCHAR));
+        name = malloc(nameSize * sizeof(WCHAR));
         if (name == NULL) {
             PyErr_NoMemory();
             goto error;
         }
-        domainName = malloc(domainNameSize * sizeof(TCHAR));
+        domainName = malloc(domainNameSize * sizeof(WCHAR));
         if (domainName == NULL) {
             PyErr_NoMemory();
             goto error;
         }
-        if (!LookupAccountSid(NULL, user->User.Sid, name, &nameSize,
-                              domainName, &domainNameSize, &nameUse))
+        if (!LookupAccountSidW(NULL, user->User.Sid, name, &nameSize,
+                               domainName, &domainNameSize, &nameUse))
         {
             if (GetLastError() == ERROR_INSUFFICIENT_BUFFER) {
                 free(name);
@@ -1389,45 +1390,38 @@ psutil_proc_username(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
         break;
     }
 
-    // build the "domain\\username" username string
-    nameSize = _tcslen(name);
-    domainNameSize = _tcslen(domainName);
-    fullName = malloc((domainNameSize + 1 + nameSize + 1) * sizeof(TCHAR));
-    if (fullName == NULL) {
-        PyErr_NoMemory();
+    py_domain = PyUnicode_FromWideChar(domainName, wcslen(domainName));
+    if (! py_domain)
         goto error;
-    }
-    memcpy(fullName, domainName, domainNameSize);
-    fullName[domainNameSize] = '\\';
-    memcpy(&fullName[domainNameSize + 1], name, nameSize);
-    fullName[domainNameSize + 1 + nameSize] = '\0';
+    py_username = PyUnicode_FromWideChar(name, wcslen(name));
+    if (! py_username)
+        goto error;
+    py_tuple = Py_BuildValue("OO", py_domain, py_username);
+    if (! py_tuple)
+        goto error;
+    Py_DECREF(py_domain);
+    Py_DECREF(py_username);
 
-#if PY_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3 && PY_MINOR_VERSION >= 3
-    py_unicode = PyUnicode_DecodeLocaleAndSize(
-        fullName, _tcslen(fullName), "surrogateescape");
-#else
-    py_unicode = PyUnicode_Decode(
-        fullName, _tcslen(fullName), Py_FileSystemDefaultEncoding, "replace");
-#endif
-    free(fullName);
     free(name);
     free(domainName);
     free(user);
-    return py_unicode;
+
+    return py_tuple;
 
 error:
     if (processHandle != NULL)
         CloseHandle(processHandle);
     if (tokenHandle != NULL)
         CloseHandle(tokenHandle);
-    if (fullName != NULL)
-        free(fullName);
     if (name != NULL)
         free(name);
     if (domainName != NULL)
         free(domainName);
     if (user != NULL)
         free(user);
+    Py_XDECREF(py_domain);
+    Py_XDECREF(py_username);
+    Py_XDECREF(py_tuple);
     return NULL;
 }
 
@@ -2565,7 +2559,7 @@ error:
 static PyObject *
 psutil_users(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
     HANDLE hServer = WTS_CURRENT_SERVER_HANDLE;
-    LPTSTR buffer_user = NULL;
+    WCHAR *buffer_user = NULL;
     LPTSTR buffer_addr = NULL;
     PWTS_SESSION_INFO sessions = NULL;
     DWORD count;
@@ -2584,7 +2578,7 @@ psutil_users(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
     PyObject *py_retlist = PyList_New(0);
     PyObject *py_tuple = NULL;
     PyObject *py_address = NULL;
-    PyObject *py_buffer_user_encoded = NULL;
+    PyObject *py_username = NULL;
 
     if (py_retlist == NULL)
         return NULL;
@@ -2612,12 +2606,12 @@ psutil_users(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
 
         // username
         bytes = 0;
-        if (WTSQuerySessionInformation(hServer, sessionId, WTSUserName,
-                                       &buffer_user, &bytes) == 0) {
+        if (WTSQuerySessionInformationW(hServer, sessionId, WTSUserName,
+                                        &buffer_user, &bytes) == 0) {
             PyErr_SetFromWindowsErr(0);
             goto error;
         }
-        if (bytes == 1)
+        if (bytes <= 2)
             continue;
 
         // address
@@ -2661,24 +2655,18 @@ psutil_users(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
             station_info.ConnectTime.dwLowDateTime - 116444736000000000LL;
         unix_time /= 10000000;
 
-#if PY_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3 && PY_MINOR_VERSION >= 3
-        py_buffer_user_encoded = PyUnicode_DecodeLocaleAndSize(
-            buffer_user, _tcslen(buffer_user), "surrogateescape");
-#else
-        py_buffer_user_encoded = PyUnicode_Decode(
-            buffer_user, _tcslen(buffer_user), Py_FileSystemDefaultEncoding,
-            "replace");
-#endif
-
-        if (py_buffer_user_encoded == NULL)
+        py_username = PyUnicode_FromWideChar(buffer_user, wcslen(buffer_user));
+        if (py_username == NULL)
             goto error;
-        py_tuple = Py_BuildValue("OOd", py_buffer_user_encoded, py_address,
+        py_tuple = Py_BuildValue("OOd",
+                                 py_username,
+                                 py_address,
                                  (double)unix_time);
         if (!py_tuple)
             goto error;
         if (PyList_Append(py_retlist, py_tuple))
             goto error;
-        Py_XDECREF(py_buffer_user_encoded);
+        Py_XDECREF(py_username);
         Py_XDECREF(py_address);
         Py_XDECREF(py_tuple);
     }
@@ -2690,7 +2678,7 @@ psutil_users(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
     return py_retlist;
 
 error:
-    Py_XDECREF(py_buffer_user_encoded);
+    Py_XDECREF(py_username);
     Py_XDECREF(py_tuple);
     Py_XDECREF(py_address);
     Py_DECREF(py_retlist);
@@ -2862,7 +2850,7 @@ psutil_proc_memory_maps(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
     HANDLE hProcess = NULL;
     PVOID baseAddress;
     PVOID previousAllocationBase;
-    CHAR mappedFileName[MAX_PATH];
+    LPWSTR mappedFileName[MAX_PATH];
     SYSTEM_INFO system_info;
     LPVOID maxAddr;
     PyObject *py_retlist = PyList_New(0);
@@ -2888,20 +2876,13 @@ psutil_proc_memory_maps(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
         py_tuple = NULL;
         if (baseAddress > maxAddr)
             break;
-        if (GetMappedFileNameA(hProcess, baseAddress, mappedFileName,
+        if (GetMappedFileNameW(hProcess, baseAddress, mappedFileName,
                                sizeof(mappedFileName)))
         {
-
-#if PY_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3
-            py_str = PyUnicode_Decode(
-                mappedFileName, _tcslen(mappedFileName),
-                Py_FileSystemDefaultEncoding, "surrogateescape");
-#else
-            py_str = Py_BuildValue("s", mappedFileName);
-#endif
+            py_str = PyUnicode_FromWideChar(mappedFileName,
+                                            wcslen(mappedFileName));
             if (py_str == NULL)
                 goto error;
-
 #ifdef _WIN64
            py_tuple = Py_BuildValue(
               "(KsOI)",
@@ -3055,11 +3036,7 @@ psutil_net_if_addrs(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
             }
             *--ptr = '\0';
 
-#if PY_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3
-            py_mac_address = PyUnicode_FromString(buff);
-#else
-            py_mac_address = PyString_FromString(buff);
-#endif
+            py_mac_address = Py_BuildValue("s", buff);
             if (py_mac_address == NULL)
                 goto error;
 
diff --git a/psutil/_pswindows.py b/psutil/_pswindows.py
index 54b094b3..f2cf49e1 100644
--- a/psutil/_pswindows.py
+++ b/psutil/_pswindows.py
@@ -36,11 +36,12 @@ from ._common import isfile_strict
 from ._common import parse_environ_block
 from ._common import sockfam_to_enum
 from ._common import socktype_to_enum
-from ._common import usage_percent
 from ._common import memoize_when_activated
+from ._common import usage_percent
 from ._compat import long
 from ._compat import lru_cache
 from ._compat import PY3
+from ._compat import unicode
 from ._compat import xrange
 from ._psutil_windows import ABOVE_NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS
 from ._psutil_windows import BELOW_NORMAL_PRIORITY_CLASS
@@ -70,7 +71,8 @@ __extra__all__ = [
 # --- globals
 # =====================================================================
 
-
+FS_ENCODING = sys.getfilesystemencoding()
+PY2_ENCODING_ERRS = "replace"
 CONN_DELETE_TCB = "DELETE_TCB"
 WAIT_TIMEOUT = 0x00000102  # 258 in decimal
 ACCESS_DENIED_SET = frozenset([errno.EPERM, errno.EACCES,
@@ -181,26 +183,22 @@ def convert_dos_path(s):
     into:
         "C:\Windows\systemew\file.txt"
     """
-    if PY3 and not isinstance(s, str):
-        s = s.decode('utf8')
     rawdrive = '\\'.join(s.split('\\')[:3])
     driveletter = cext.win32_QueryDosDevice(rawdrive)
     return os.path.join(driveletter, s[len(rawdrive):])
 
 
-def py2_strencode(s, encoding=sys.getfilesystemencoding()):
-    """Encode a string in the given encoding. Falls back on returning
-    the string as is if it can't be encoded.
+def py2_strencode(s):
+    """Encode a unicode string to a byte string by using the default fs
+    encoding + "replace" error handler.
     """
-    if PY3 or isinstance(s, str):
+    if PY3:
         return s
     else:
-        try:
-            return s.encode(encoding)
-        except UnicodeEncodeError:
-            # Filesystem codec failed, return the plain unicode
-            # string (this should never happen).
+        if isinstance(s, str):
             return s
+        else:
+            return s.encode(FS_ENCODING, errors=PY2_ENCODING_ERRS)
 
 
 # =====================================================================
@@ -341,9 +339,12 @@ def net_connections(kind, _pid=-1):
 
 def net_if_stats():
     """Get NIC stats (isup, duplex, speed, mtu)."""
-    ret = cext.net_if_stats()
-    for name, items in ret.items():
-        name = py2_strencode(name)
+    ret = {}
+    rawdict = cext.net_if_stats()
+    for name, items in rawdict.items():
+        if not PY3:
+            assert isinstance(name, unicode), type(name)
+            name = py2_strencode(name)
         isup, duplex, speed, mtu = items
         if hasattr(_common, 'NicDuplex'):
             duplex = _common.NicDuplex(duplex)
@@ -422,9 +423,9 @@ def users():
 
 
 def win_service_iter():
-    """Return a list of WindowsService instances."""
+    """Yields a list of WindowsService instances."""
     for name, display_name in cext.winservice_enumerate():
-        yield WindowsService(name, display_name)
+        yield WindowsService(py2_strencode(name), py2_strencode(display_name))
 
 
 def win_service_get(name):
@@ -465,10 +466,10 @@ class WindowsService(object):
                 cext.winservice_query_config(self._name)
         # XXX - update _self.display_name?
         return dict(
-            display_name=display_name,
-            binpath=binpath,
-            username=username,
-            start_type=start_type)
+            display_name=py2_strencode(display_name),
+            binpath=py2_strencode(binpath),
+            username=py2_strencode(username),
+            start_type=py2_strencode(start_type))
 
     def _query_status(self):
         with self._wrap_exceptions():
@@ -545,7 +546,7 @@ class WindowsService(object):
 
     def description(self):
         """Service long description."""
-        return cext.winservice_query_descr(self.name())
+        return py2_strencode(cext.winservice_query_descr(self.name()))
 
     # utils
 
@@ -695,7 +696,10 @@ class Process(object):
 
     @wrap_exceptions
     def environ(self):
-        return parse_environ_block(cext.proc_environ(self.pid))
+        ustr = cext.proc_environ(self.pid)
+        if ustr and not PY3:
+            assert isinstance(ustr, unicode), type(ustr)
+        return parse_environ_block(py2_strencode(ustr))
 
     def ppid(self):
         try:
@@ -755,6 +759,9 @@ class Process(object):
         else:
             for addr, perm, path, rss in raw:
                 path = convert_dos_path(path)
+                if not PY3:
+                    assert isinstance(path, unicode), type(path)
+                    path = py2_strencode(path)
                 addr = hex(addr)
                 yield (addr, perm, path, rss)
 
@@ -782,7 +789,8 @@ class Process(object):
     def username(self):
         if self.pid in (0, 4):
             return 'NT AUTHORITY\\SYSTEM'
-        return cext.proc_username(self.pid)
+        domain, user = cext.proc_username(self.pid)
+        return py2_strencode(domain) + '\\' + py2_strencode(user)
 
     @wrap_exceptions
     def create_time(self):
diff --git a/psutil/arch/bsd/freebsd.c b/psutil/arch/bsd/freebsd.c
index 2188564f..11594b9d 100644
--- a/psutil/arch/bsd/freebsd.c
+++ b/psutil/arch/bsd/freebsd.c
@@ -238,11 +238,7 @@ psutil_get_cmdline(long pid) {
     // separator
     if (argsize > 0) {
         while (pos < argsize) {
-#if PY_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3
             py_arg = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(&argstr[pos]);
-#else
-            py_arg = Py_BuildValue("s", &argstr[pos]);
-#endif
             if (!py_arg)
                 goto error;
             if (PyList_Append(py_retlist, py_arg))
@@ -292,7 +288,7 @@ psutil_proc_exe(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
     if (error == -1) {
         // see: https://github.com/giampaolo/psutil/issues/907
         if (errno == ENOENT)
-            return Py_BuildValue("s", "");
+            return PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault("");
         else
             return PyErr_SetFromErrno(PyExc_OSError);
     }
@@ -306,12 +302,7 @@ psutil_proc_exe(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
             strcpy(pathname, "");
     }
 
-#if PY_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3
     return PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(pathname);
-#else
-    return Py_BuildValue("s", pathname);
-#endif
-
 }
 
 
@@ -564,11 +555,7 @@ psutil_proc_cwd(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
     for (i = 0; i < cnt; i++) {
         kif = &freep[i];
         if (kif->kf_fd == KF_FD_TYPE_CWD) {
-#if PY_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3
             py_path = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(kif->kf_path);
-#else
-            py_path = Py_BuildValue("s", kif->kf_path);
-#endif
             if (!py_path)
                 goto error;
             break;
@@ -580,7 +567,7 @@ psutil_proc_cwd(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
      * as root we return an empty string instead of AccessDenied.
      */
     if (py_path == NULL)
-        py_path = Py_BuildValue("s", "");
+        py_path = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault("");
     free(freep);
     return py_path;
 
@@ -759,12 +746,13 @@ psutil_proc_memory_maps(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
     int i, cnt;
     char addr[1000];
     char perms[4];
-    const char *path;
+    char *path;
     struct kinfo_proc kp;
     struct kinfo_vmentry *freep = NULL;
     struct kinfo_vmentry *kve;
     ptrwidth = 2 * sizeof(void *);
     PyObject *py_tuple = NULL;
+    PyObject *py_path = NULL;
     PyObject *py_retlist = PyList_New(0);
 
     if (py_retlist == NULL)
@@ -833,10 +821,13 @@ psutil_proc_memory_maps(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
             path = kve->kve_path;
         }
 
-        py_tuple = Py_BuildValue("sssiiii",
+        py_path = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(path);
+        if (! py_path)
+            goto error;
+        py_tuple = Py_BuildValue("ssOiiii",
             addr,                       // "start-end" address
             perms,                      // "rwx" permissions
-            path,                       // path
+            py_path,                    // path
             kve->kve_resident,          // rss
             kve->kve_private_resident,  // private
             kve->kve_ref_count,         // ref count
@@ -845,6 +836,7 @@ psutil_proc_memory_maps(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
             goto error;
         if (PyList_Append(py_retlist, py_tuple))
             goto error;
+        Py_DECREF(py_path);
         Py_DECREF(py_tuple);
     }
     free(freep);
@@ -852,6 +844,7 @@ psutil_proc_memory_maps(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
 
 error:
     Py_XDECREF(py_tuple);
+    Py_XDECREF(py_path);
     Py_DECREF(py_retlist);
     if (freep != NULL)
         free(freep);
diff --git a/psutil/arch/bsd/freebsd_socks.c b/psutil/arch/bsd/freebsd_socks.c
index 521868ba..c7a26323 100644
--- a/psutil/arch/bsd/freebsd_socks.c
+++ b/psutil/arch/bsd/freebsd_socks.c
@@ -358,8 +358,7 @@ int psutil_gather_unix(int proto, PyObject *py_retlist) {
     char path[PATH_MAX];
 
     PyObject *py_tuple = NULL;
-    PyObject *py_laddr = NULL;
-    PyObject *py_raddr = NULL;
+    PyObject *py_lpath = NULL;
 
     switch (proto) {
         case SOCK_STREAM:
@@ -418,13 +417,23 @@ int psutil_gather_unix(int proto, PyObject *py_retlist) {
         snprintf(path, sizeof(path), "%.*s",
                  (int)(sun->sun_len - (sizeof(*sun) - sizeof(sun->sun_path))),
                  sun->sun_path);
+        py_lpath = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(path);
+        if (! py_lpath)
+            goto error;
 
-        py_tuple = Py_BuildValue("(iiisOii)", -1, AF_UNIX, proto, path,
-                                 Py_None, PSUTIL_CONN_NONE, pid);
+        py_tuple = Py_BuildValue("(iiiOOii)",
+            -1,
+            AF_UNIX,
+            proto,
+            py_lpath,
+            Py_None,
+            PSUTIL_CONN_NONE,
+            pid);
         if (!py_tuple)
             goto error;
         if (PyList_Append(py_retlist, py_tuple))
             goto error;
+        Py_DECREF(py_lpath);
         Py_DECREF(py_tuple);
         Py_INCREF(Py_None);
     }
@@ -434,8 +443,7 @@ int psutil_gather_unix(int proto, PyObject *py_retlist) {
 
 error:
     Py_XDECREF(py_tuple);
-    Py_XDECREF(py_laddr);
-    Py_XDECREF(py_raddr);
+    Py_XDECREF(py_lpath);
     free(buf);
     return 0;
 }
@@ -597,11 +605,7 @@ psutil_proc_connections(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
                     (int)(sun->sun_len - (sizeof(*sun) - sizeof(sun->sun_path))),
                     sun->sun_path);
 
-#if PY_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3
                 py_laddr = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(path);
-#else
-                py_laddr = Py_BuildValue("s", path);
-#endif
                 if (! py_laddr)
                     goto error;
 
diff --git a/psutil/arch/bsd/netbsd.c b/psutil/arch/bsd/netbsd.c
index 361ab1f9..5748000f 100644
--- a/psutil/arch/bsd/netbsd.c
+++ b/psutil/arch/bsd/netbsd.c
@@ -119,6 +119,7 @@ kinfo_getfile(pid_t pid, int* cnt) {
 // https://github.com/giampaolo/psutil/pull/557#issuecomment-171912820
 // Current implementation uses /proc instead.
 // Left here just in case.
+/*
 PyObject *
 psutil_proc_exe(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
 #if __NetBSD_Version__ >= 799000000
@@ -163,16 +164,12 @@ psutil_proc_exe(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
             strcpy(pathname, "");
     }
 
-#if PY_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3
     return PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(pathname);
 #else
-    return Py_BuildValue("s", pathname);
-#endif
-
-#else
     return Py_BuildValue("s", "");
 #endif
 }
+*/
 
 PyObject *
 psutil_proc_num_threads(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
@@ -386,11 +383,7 @@ psutil_get_cmdline(pid_t pid) {
     // separator
     if (argsize > 0) {
         while (pos < argsize) {
-#if PY_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3
             py_arg = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(&argstr[pos]);
-#else
-            py_arg = Py_BuildValue("s", &argstr[pos]);
-#endif
             if (!py_arg)
                 goto error;
             if (PyList_Append(py_retlist, py_arg))
diff --git a/psutil/arch/bsd/netbsd_socks.c b/psutil/arch/bsd/netbsd_socks.c
index d05981d2..06b7c755 100644
--- a/psutil/arch/bsd/netbsd_socks.c
+++ b/psutil/arch/bsd/netbsd_socks.c
@@ -406,19 +406,17 @@ psutil_net_connections(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
                 strcpy(laddr, sun_src->sun_path);
                 strcpy(raddr, sun_dst->sun_path);
                 status = PSUTIL_CONN_NONE;
-                // TODO: handle unicode
-                py_laddr = Py_BuildValue("s", laddr);
+                py_laddr = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(laddr);
                 if (! py_laddr)
                     goto error;
-                // TODO: handle unicode
-                py_raddr = Py_BuildValue("s", raddr);
+                py_raddr = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(raddr);
                 if (! py_raddr)
                     goto error;
             }
 
             // append tuple to list
             py_tuple = Py_BuildValue(
-                "(iiiNNii)",
+                "(iiiOOii)",
                 k->kif->ki_fd,
                 kp->kpcb->ki_family,
                 kp->kpcb->ki_type,
@@ -430,6 +428,8 @@ psutil_net_connections(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
                 goto error;
             if (PyList_Append(py_retlist, py_tuple))
                 goto error;
+            Py_DECREF(py_laddr);
+            Py_DECREF(py_raddr);
             Py_DECREF(py_tuple);
         }
     }
diff --git a/psutil/arch/bsd/openbsd.c b/psutil/arch/bsd/openbsd.c
index fa6edc02..8891c461 100644
--- a/psutil/arch/bsd/openbsd.c
+++ b/psutil/arch/bsd/openbsd.c
@@ -203,11 +203,7 @@ psutil_get_cmdline(long pid) {
         goto error;
 
     for (p = argv; *p != NULL; p++) {
-#if PY_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3
         py_arg = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(*p);
-#else
-        py_arg = Py_BuildValue("s", *p);
-#endif
         if (!py_arg)
             goto error;
         if (PyList_Append(py_retlist, py_arg))
@@ -435,11 +431,7 @@ psutil_proc_cwd(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
         PyErr_SetFromErrno(PyExc_OSError);
         return NULL;
     }
-#if PY_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3
     return PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(path);
-#else
-    return Py_BuildValue("s", path);
-#endif
 }
 
 
diff --git a/psutil/arch/osx/process_info.c b/psutil/arch/osx/process_info.c
index 1c97b69f..7d6861a5 100644
--- a/psutil/arch/osx/process_info.c
+++ b/psutil/arch/osx/process_info.c
@@ -177,12 +177,8 @@ psutil_get_cmdline(long pid) {
         goto error;
     while (arg_ptr < arg_end && nargs > 0) {
         if (*arg_ptr++ == '\0') {
-#if PY_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3
             py_arg = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefault(curr_arg);
-#else
-            py_arg = Py_BuildValue("s", curr_arg);
-#endif
-            if (!py_arg)
+            if (! py_arg)
                 goto error;
             if (PyList_Append(py_retlist, py_arg))
                 goto error;
@@ -293,13 +289,8 @@ psutil_get_environ(long pid) {
         arg_ptr = s + 1;
     }
 
-#if PY_MAJOR_VERSION >= 3
     py_ret = PyUnicode_DecodeFSDefaultAndSize(
         procenv, arg_ptr - env_start + 1);
-#else
-    py_ret = PyString_FromStringAndSize(procenv, arg_ptr - env_start + 1);
-#endif
-
     if (!py_ret) {
         // XXX: don't want to free() this as per:
         // https://github.com/giampaolo/psutil/issues/926
diff --git a/psutil/arch/windows/services.c b/psutil/arch/windows/services.c
index 85ea6ff4..e82f2887 100644
--- a/psutil/arch/windows/services.c
+++ b/psutil/arch/windows/services.c
@@ -18,10 +18,9 @@
 SC_HANDLE
 psutil_get_service_handler(char *service_name, DWORD scm_access, DWORD access)
 {
-    ENUM_SERVICE_STATUS_PROCESS *lpService = NULL;
+    ENUM_SERVICE_STATUS_PROCESSW *lpService = NULL;
     SC_HANDLE sc = NULL;
     SC_HANDLE hService = NULL;
-    SERVICE_DESCRIPTION *scd = NULL;
 
     sc = OpenSCManager(NULL, NULL, scm_access);
     if (sc == NULL) {
@@ -96,7 +95,7 @@ get_state_string(DWORD state) {
  */
 PyObject *
 psutil_winservice_enumerate(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
-    ENUM_SERVICE_STATUS_PROCESS *lpService = NULL;
+    ENUM_SERVICE_STATUS_PROCESSW *lpService = NULL;
     BOOL ok;
     SC_HANDLE sc = NULL;
     DWORD bytesNeeded = 0;
@@ -106,7 +105,8 @@ psutil_winservice_enumerate(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
     DWORD i;
     PyObject *py_retlist = PyList_New(0);
     PyObject *py_tuple = NULL;
-    PyObject *py_unicode_display_name = NULL;
+    PyObject *py_name = NULL;
+    PyObject *py_display_name = NULL;
 
     if (py_retlist == NULL)
         return NULL;
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ psutil_winservice_enumerate(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
     }
 
     for (;;) {
-        ok = EnumServicesStatusEx(
+        ok = EnumServicesStatusExW(
             sc,
             SC_ENUM_PROCESS_INFO,
             SERVICE_WIN32,  // XXX - extend this to include drivers etc.?
@@ -134,31 +134,31 @@ psutil_winservice_enumerate(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
         if (lpService)
             free(lpService);
         dwBytes = bytesNeeded;
-        lpService = (ENUM_SERVICE_STATUS_PROCESS*)malloc(dwBytes);
+        lpService = (ENUM_SERVICE_STATUS_PROCESSW*)malloc(dwBytes);
     }
 
     for (i = 0; i < srvCount; i++) {
-        // Get unicode display name.
-        py_unicode_display_name = NULL;
-        py_unicode_display_name = PyUnicode_Decode(
-            lpService[i].lpDisplayName,
-            _tcslen(lpService[i].lpDisplayName),
-            Py_FileSystemDefaultEncoding,
-            "replace");
-        if (py_unicode_display_name == NULL)
+        // Get unicode name / display name.
+        py_name = NULL;
+        py_name = PyUnicode_FromWideChar(
+            lpService[i].lpServiceName, wcslen(lpService[i].lpServiceName));
+        if (py_name == NULL)
+            goto error;
+
+        py_display_name = NULL;
+        py_display_name = PyUnicode_FromWideChar(
+            lpService[i].lpDisplayName, wcslen(lpService[i].lpDisplayName));
+        if (py_display_name == NULL)
             goto error;
 
         // Construct the result.
-        py_tuple = Py_BuildValue(
-            "(sO)",
-            lpService[i].lpServiceName,  // name
-            py_unicode_display_name  // display_name
-        );
+        py_tuple = Py_BuildValue("(OO)", py_name, py_display_name);
         if (py_tuple == NULL)
             goto error;
         if (PyList_Append(py_retlist, py_tuple))
             goto error;
-        Py_DECREF(py_unicode_display_name);
+        Py_DECREF(py_display_name);
+        Py_DECREF(py_name);
         Py_DECREF(py_tuple);
     }
 
@@ -168,7 +168,8 @@ psutil_winservice_enumerate(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
     return py_retlist;
 
 error:
-    Py_XDECREF(py_unicode_display_name);
+    Py_DECREF(py_name);
+    Py_XDECREF(py_display_name);
     Py_XDECREF(py_tuple);
     Py_DECREF(py_retlist);
     if (sc != NULL)
@@ -194,7 +195,7 @@ psutil_winservice_query_config(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
     DWORD bytesNeeded = 0;
     DWORD resumeHandle = 0;
     DWORD dwBytes = 0;
-    QUERY_SERVICE_CONFIG *qsc = NULL;
+    QUERY_SERVICE_CONFIGW *qsc = NULL;
     PyObject *py_tuple = NULL;
     PyObject *py_unicode_display_name = NULL;
     PyObject *py_unicode_binpath = NULL;
@@ -207,45 +208,36 @@ psutil_winservice_query_config(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
     if (hService == NULL)
         goto error;
 
-    // First call to QueryServiceConfig() is necessary to get the
+    // First call to QueryServiceConfigW() is necessary to get the
     // right size.
     bytesNeeded = 0;
-    QueryServiceConfig(hService, NULL, 0, &bytesNeeded);
+    QueryServiceConfigW(hService, NULL, 0, &bytesNeeded);
     if (GetLastError() != ERROR_INSUFFICIENT_BUFFER) {
         PyErr_SetFromWindowsErr(0);
         goto error;
     }
     qsc = (QUERY_SERVICE_CONFIG *)malloc(bytesNeeded);
-    ok = QueryServiceConfig(hService, qsc, bytesNeeded, &bytesNeeded);
+    ok = QueryServiceConfigW(hService, qsc, bytesNeeded, &bytesNeeded);
     if (ok == 0) {
         PyErr_SetFromWindowsErr(0);
         goto error;
     }
 
     // Get unicode display name.
-    py_unicode_display_name = PyUnicode_Decode(
-        qsc->lpDisplayName,
-        _tcslen(qsc->lpDisplayName),
-        Py_FileSystemDefaultEncoding,
-        "replace");
+    py_unicode_display_name = PyUnicode_FromWideChar(
+        qsc->lpDisplayName, wcslen(qsc->lpDisplayName));
     if (py_unicode_display_name == NULL)
         goto error;
 
     // Get unicode bin path.
-    py_unicode_binpath = PyUnicode_Decode(
-        qsc->lpBinaryPathName,
-        _tcslen(qsc->lpBinaryPathName),
-        Py_FileSystemDefaultEncoding,
-        "replace");
+    py_unicode_binpath = PyUnicode_FromWideChar(
+        qsc->lpBinaryPathName, wcslen(qsc->lpBinaryPathName));
     if (py_unicode_binpath == NULL)
         goto error;
 
     // Get unicode username.
-    py_unicode_username = PyUnicode_Decode(
-        qsc->lpServiceStartName,
-        _tcslen(qsc->lpServiceStartName),
-        Py_FileSystemDefaultEncoding,
-        "replace");
+    py_unicode_username = PyUnicode_FromWideChar(
+        qsc->lpServiceStartName, wcslen(qsc->lpServiceStartName));
     if (py_unicode_username == NULL)
         goto error;
 
@@ -360,13 +352,13 @@ error:
  */
 PyObject *
 psutil_winservice_query_descr(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
-    ENUM_SERVICE_STATUS_PROCESS *lpService = NULL;
+    ENUM_SERVICE_STATUS_PROCESSW *lpService = NULL;
     BOOL ok;
     DWORD bytesNeeded = 0;
     DWORD resumeHandle = 0;
     DWORD dwBytes = 0;
     SC_HANDLE hService = NULL;
-    SERVICE_DESCRIPTION *scd = NULL;
+    SERVICE_DESCRIPTIONW *scd = NULL;
     char *service_name;
     PyObject *py_retstr = NULL;
 
@@ -377,11 +369,11 @@ psutil_winservice_query_descr(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
     if (hService == NULL)
         goto error;
 
-    // This first call to QueryServiceConfig2() is necessary in order
+    // This first call to QueryServiceConfig2W() is necessary in order
     // to get the right size.
     bytesNeeded = 0;
-    QueryServiceConfig2(hService, SERVICE_CONFIG_DESCRIPTION, NULL, 0,
-                        &bytesNeeded);
+    QueryServiceConfig2W(hService, SERVICE_CONFIG_DESCRIPTION, NULL, 0,
+                         &bytesNeeded);
     if (GetLastError() == ERROR_MUI_FILE_NOT_FOUND) {
         // Also services.msc fails in the same manner, so we return an
         // empty string.
@@ -393,9 +385,9 @@ psutil_winservice_query_descr(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
         goto error;
     }
 
-    scd = (SERVICE_DESCRIPTION *)malloc(bytesNeeded);
-    ok = QueryServiceConfig2(hService, SERVICE_CONFIG_DESCRIPTION,
-                             (LPBYTE)scd, bytesNeeded, &bytesNeeded);
+    scd = (SERVICE_DESCRIPTIONW *)malloc(bytesNeeded);
+    ok = QueryServiceConfig2W(hService, SERVICE_CONFIG_DESCRIPTION,
+                              (LPBYTE)scd, bytesNeeded, &bytesNeeded);
     if (ok == 0) {
         PyErr_SetFromWindowsErr(0);
         goto error;
@@ -405,11 +397,8 @@ psutil_winservice_query_descr(PyObject *self, PyObject *args) {
         py_retstr = Py_BuildValue("s", "");
     }
     else {
-        py_retstr = PyUnicode_Decode(
-            scd->lpDescription,
-            _tcslen(scd->lpDescription),
-            Py_FileSystemDefaultEncoding,
-            "replace");
+        py_retstr = PyUnicode_FromWideChar(
+            scd->lpDescription,  wcslen(scd->lpDescription));
     }
     if (!py_retstr)
         goto error;
diff --git a/psutil/tests/test_unicode.py b/psutil/tests/test_unicode.py
index ce881eac..47e8d15c 100644
--- a/psutil/tests/test_unicode.py
+++ b/psutil/tests/test_unicode.py
@@ -12,53 +12,44 @@ Notes about unicode handling in psutil
 In psutil these are the APIs returning or dealing with a string
 ('not tested' means they are not tested to deal with non-ASCII strings):
 
-- Process.cmdline()
-- Process.connections('unix')
-- Process.cwd()
-- Process.environ()
-- Process.exe()
-- Process.memory_maps()
-- Process.name()
-- Process.open_files()
-- Process.username()             (not tested)
-
-- disk_io_counters()             (not tested)
-- disk_partitions()              (not tested)
-- disk_usage(str)
-- net_connections('unix')
-- net_if_addrs()                 (not tested)
-- net_if_stats()                 (not tested)
-- net_io_counters()              (not tested)
-- sensors_fans()                 (not tested)
-- sensors_temperatures()         (not tested)
-- users()                        (not tested)
-
-- WindowsService.binpath()       (not tested)
-- WindowsService.description()   (not tested)
-- WindowsService.display_name()  (not tested)
-- WindowsService.name()          (not tested)
-- WindowsService.status()        (not tested)
-- WindowsService.username()      (not tested)
+* Process.cmdline()
+* Process.connections('unix')
+* Process.cwd()
+* Process.environ()
+* Process.exe()
+* Process.memory_maps()
+* Process.name()
+* Process.open_files()
+* Process.username()             (not tested)
+
+* disk_io_counters()             (not tested)
+* disk_partitions()              (not tested)
+* disk_usage(str)
+* net_connections('unix')
+* net_if_addrs()                 (not tested)
+* net_if_stats()                 (not tested)
+* net_io_counters()              (not tested)
+* sensors_fans()                 (not tested)
+* sensors_temperatures()         (not tested)
+* users()                        (not tested)
+
+* WindowsService.binpath()       (not tested)
+* WindowsService.description()   (not tested)
+* WindowsService.display_name()  (not tested)
+* WindowsService.name()          (not tested)
+* WindowsService.status()        (not tested)
+* WindowsService.username()      (not tested)
 
 In here we create a unicode path with a funky non-ASCII name and (where
-possible) make psutil return it back (e.g. on name(), exe(),
-open_files(), etc.) and make sure psutil never crashes with
-UnicodeDecodeError.
-
-On Python 3 the returned path is supposed to match 100% (and this
-is tested).
-Not on Python 2 though, where we assume correct unicode path handling
-is broken. In fact it is broken for most os.* functions, see:
-http://bugs.python.org/issue18695
-There really is no way for psutil to handle unicode correctly on
-Python 2 unless we make such APIs return a unicode type in certain
-circumstances.
-I'd rather have unicode support broken on Python 2 than having APIs
-returning variable str/unicode types, see:
-https://github.com/giampaolo/psutil/issues/655#issuecomment-136131180
-
-As such we also test that all APIs on Python 2 always return str and
-never unicode (in test_contracts.py).
+possible) make psutil return it back (e.g. on name(), exe(), open_files(),
+etc.) and make sure that:
+
+* psutil never crashes with UnicodeDecodeError
+* the returned path matches
+
+For a detailed explanation of how psutil handles unicode see:
+- https://github.com/giampaolo/psutil/issues/1040
+- https://pythonhosted.org/psutil/#unicode
 """
 
 import os
diff --git a/psutil/tests/test_windows.py b/psutil/tests/test_windows.py
index 2433849f..ac787283 100755
--- a/psutil/tests/test_windows.py
+++ b/psutil/tests/test_windows.py
@@ -28,7 +28,6 @@ except ImportError:
 
 import psutil
 from psutil import WINDOWS
-from psutil._compat import basestring
 from psutil._compat import callable
 from psutil.tests import APPVEYOR
 from psutil.tests import get_test_subprocess
@@ -753,19 +752,19 @@ class TestServices(unittest.TestCase):
         ])
         for serv in psutil.win_service_iter():
             data = serv.as_dict()
-            self.assertIsInstance(data['name'], basestring)
+            self.assertIsInstance(data['name'], str)
             self.assertNotEqual(data['name'].strip(), "")
-            self.assertIsInstance(data['display_name'], basestring)
-            self.assertIsInstance(data['username'], basestring)
+            self.assertIsInstance(data['display_name'], str)
+            self.assertIsInstance(data['username'], str)
             self.assertIn(data['status'], valid_statuses)
             if data['pid'] is not None:
                 psutil.Process(data['pid'])
-            self.assertIsInstance(data['binpath'], basestring)
-            self.assertIsInstance(data['username'], basestring)
-            self.assertIsInstance(data['start_type'], basestring)
+            self.assertIsInstance(data['binpath'], str)
+            self.assertIsInstance(data['username'], str)
+            self.assertIsInstance(data['start_type'], str)
             self.assertIn(data['start_type'], valid_start_types)
             self.assertIn(data['status'], valid_statuses)
-            self.assertIsInstance(data['description'], basestring)
+            self.assertIsInstance(data['description'], str)
             pid = serv.pid()
             if pid is not None:
                 p = psutil.Process(pid)