diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index f074bc1c5dd..4b5290b7710 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -143,7 +143,7 @@ def read(*names, **kwargs):
         'bz2file >= 0.98',
 
         # commoncode
-        'backports.os == 0.1rc1',
+        'backports.os == 0.1.1',
         'future >= 0.16.0, < 0.17.0',
         'text-unidecode >= 1.0, < 2.0',
 
diff --git a/src/commoncode/command.py b/src/commoncode/command.py
index 89d85b1785a..ba1b6fd8e53 100644
--- a/src/commoncode/command.py
+++ b/src/commoncode/command.py
@@ -53,6 +53,11 @@
     # Python 3
     unicode = str
 
+try:
+    from os import fsencode
+except ImportError:
+    from backports.os import fsencode
+
 
 """
 Minimal wrapper for executing external commands in sub-processes. The approach
@@ -344,7 +349,7 @@ def load_lib(libname, root_dir):
     if os.path.exists(so):
         if not isinstance(so, bytes):
             # ensure that the path is not Unicode...
-            so = so.encode(fileutils.FS_ENCODING)
+            so = fsencode(so)
         lib = ctypes.CDLL(so)
         if lib and lib._name:
             return lib
diff --git a/src/commoncode/fileutils.py b/src/commoncode/fileutils.py
index 7f481fc539d..a0c236212e1 100644
--- a/src/commoncode/fileutils.py
+++ b/src/commoncode/fileutils.py
@@ -35,6 +35,13 @@
     # Python 3
     unicode = str
 
+try:
+    from os import fsencode
+except ImportError:
+    from backports.os import fsencode
+    from backports.os import fsdecode
+
+
 import codecs
 import errno
 import os
@@ -45,7 +52,6 @@
 import sys
 import tempfile
 
-from backports import os as osb
 
 from commoncode import filetype
 from commoncode.filetype import is_rwx
@@ -77,8 +83,6 @@ def logger_debug(*args):
         return logger.debug(' '.join(isinstance(a, basestring) and a or repr(a) for a in args))
 
 
-FS_ENCODING = sys.getfilesystemencoding() or sys.getdefaultencoding()
-
 # Paths can only be sanely handled as raw bytes on Linux
 PATH_TYPE = bytes if on_linux else unicode
 POSIX_PATH_SEP = b'/' if on_linux else '/'
@@ -217,8 +221,8 @@ def path_to_unicode(path):
     """
     if isinstance(path, unicode):
         return path
-    if TRACE: logger_debug('path_to_unicode:', osb.fsdecode(path))
-    return osb.fsdecode(path)
+    if TRACE: logger_debug('path_to_unicode:', fsdecode(path))
+    return fsdecode(path)
 
 
 def path_to_bytes(path):
@@ -227,8 +231,8 @@ def path_to_bytes(path):
     """
     if isinstance(path, bytes):
         return path
-    if TRACE: logger_debug('path_to_bytes:' , repr(osb.fsencode(path)))
-    return osb.fsencode(path)
+    if TRACE: logger_debug('path_to_bytes:' , repr(fsencode(path)))
+    return fsencode(path)
 
 
 def is_posixpath(location):
diff --git a/src/commoncode/testcase.py b/src/commoncode/testcase.py
index dfbb00cb61b..780fd74a29d 100644
--- a/src/commoncode/testcase.py
+++ b/src/commoncode/testcase.py
@@ -28,14 +28,14 @@
 from __future__ import division
 from __future__ import unicode_literals
 
-from unittest import TestCase as TestCaseClass
-
 import filecmp
+from functools import partial
 import os
 import shutil
 import stat
 import sys
 import tarfile
+from unittest import TestCase as TestCaseClass
 import zipfile
 
 from commoncode import fileutils
@@ -278,19 +278,27 @@ def extract_test_tar(self, test_path, verbatim=False):
     def extract_test_tar_raw(self, test_path, *args, **kwargs):
         return self.__extract(test_path, extract_tar_raw)
 
+    def extract_test_tar_unicode(self, test_path, *args, **kwargs):
+        return self.__extract(test_path, extract_tar_uni)
 
-def extract_tar_raw(test_path, target_dir, *args, **kwargs):
+
+def _extract_tar_raw(test_path, target_dir, to_bytes, *args, **kwargs):
     """
     Raw simplified extract for certain really weird paths and file
     names.
     """
-    # use bytes for paths on ALL OSes (though this may fail on macOS)
-    target_dir = path_to_bytes(target_dir)
-    test_path = path_to_bytes(test_path)
+    if to_bytes:
+        # use bytes for paths on ALL OSes (though this may fail on macOS)
+        target_dir = path_to_bytes(target_dir)
+        test_path = path_to_bytes(test_path)
     tar = tarfile.open(test_path)
     tar.extractall(path=target_dir)
     tar.close()
 
+extract_tar_raw = partial(_extract_tar_raw, to_bytes=True)
+
+extract_tar_uni = partial(_extract_tar_raw, to_bytes=False)
+
 
 def extract_tar(location, target_dir, verbatim=False, *args, **kwargs):
     """
diff --git a/src/extractcode/libarchive2.py b/src/extractcode/libarchive2.py
index 80601704b2e..40e0011e460 100644
--- a/src/extractcode/libarchive2.py
+++ b/src/extractcode/libarchive2.py
@@ -51,6 +51,13 @@
 from extractcode import ExtractErrorPasswordProtected
 
 
+# Python 2 and 3 support
+try:
+    from os import fsencode
+except ImportError:
+    from backports.os import fsencode
+
+
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 DEBUG = False
 # logging.basicConfig(level=logging.DEBUG)
@@ -104,7 +111,7 @@ def load_lib():
     if os.path.exists(libarchive):
         if not isinstance(libarchive, bytes):
             # ensure that the path is not Unicode...
-            libarchive = libarchive.encode(fileutils.FS_ENCODING)
+            libarchive = fsencode(libarchive)
         lib = ctypes.CDLL(libarchive)
         if lib and lib._name:
             return lib
diff --git a/src/typecode/magic2.py b/src/typecode/magic2.py
index e2a9b62d873..870a285b5d0 100644
--- a/src/typecode/magic2.py
+++ b/src/typecode/magic2.py
@@ -48,11 +48,17 @@
 
 import os.path
 import ctypes
-import sys
 
 from commoncode import system
 from commoncode import command
 
+# Python 2 and 3 support
+try:
+    from os import fsencode
+except ImportError:
+    from backports.os import fsencode
+
+
 """
 magic2 is minimal and specialized wrapper around a vendored libmagic file
 identification library. This is NOT thread-safe. It is based on python-magic
@@ -204,7 +210,7 @@ def load_lib():
     if os.path.exists(magic_so):
         if not isinstance(magic_so, bytes):
             # ensure that the path is not Unicode...
-            magic_so = magic_so.encode(sys.getfilesystemencoding() or sys.getdefaultencoding())
+            magic_so = fsencode(magic_so)
         lib = ctypes.CDLL(magic_so)
         if lib and lib._name:
             return lib
diff --git a/tests/scancode/data/unicode_fixtures.tar.gz b/tests/scancode/data/unicode_fixtures.tar.gz
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..6f395211122
Binary files /dev/null and b/tests/scancode/data/unicode_fixtures.tar.gz differ
diff --git a/tests/scancode/data/unicode_fixtures/.hidden b/tests/scancode/data/unicode_fixtures/.hidden
deleted file mode 100644
index b885243649b..00000000000
--- a/tests/scancode/data/unicode_fixtures/.hidden
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-I am hidden
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/scancode/data/unicode_fixtures/empty.txt b/tests/scancode/data/unicode_fixtures/empty.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index e69de29bb2d..00000000000
diff --git a/tests/scancode/data/unicode_fixtures/foo bar b/tests/scancode/data/unicode_fixtures/foo bar
deleted file mode 100644
index 3f953866625..00000000000
--- a/tests/scancode/data/unicode_fixtures/foo bar	
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-baz
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/scancode/data/unicode_fixtures/nums b/tests/scancode/data/unicode_fixtures/nums
deleted file mode 100644
index e2e107ac61a..00000000000
--- a/tests/scancode/data/unicode_fixtures/nums
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-123456789
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/scancode/data/unicode_fixtures/pets/names.txt b/tests/scancode/data/unicode_fixtures/pets/names.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index 91407a3e048..00000000000
--- a/tests/scancode/data/unicode_fixtures/pets/names.txt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-tobi,loki
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git "a/tests/scancode/data/unicode_fixtures/snow \342\230\203/.gitkeep" "b/tests/scancode/data/unicode_fixtures/snow \342\230\203/.gitkeep"
deleted file mode 100644
index e69de29bb2d..00000000000
diff --git a/tests/scancode/data/unicode_fixtures/todo.html b/tests/scancode/data/unicode_fixtures/todo.html
deleted file mode 100644
index e7af6d7998d..00000000000
--- a/tests/scancode/data/unicode_fixtures/todo.html
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-<li>groceries</li>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/scancode/data/unicode_fixtures/todo.txt b/tests/scancode/data/unicode_fixtures/todo.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index 8c3539d9461..00000000000
--- a/tests/scancode/data/unicode_fixtures/todo.txt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-- groceries
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/scancode/data/unicode_fixtures/users/index.html b/tests/scancode/data/unicode_fixtures/users/index.html
deleted file mode 100644
index 00a2db41f75..00000000000
--- a/tests/scancode/data/unicode_fixtures/users/index.html
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-<p>tobi, loki, jane</p>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/scancode/data/unicode_fixtures/users/tobi.txt b/tests/scancode/data/unicode_fixtures/users/tobi.txt
deleted file mode 100644
index 9d9529d47d7..00000000000
--- a/tests/scancode/data/unicode_fixtures/users/tobi.txt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-ferret
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/scancode/test_cli.py b/tests/scancode/test_cli.py
index 61046ce121b..e99753eb4fc 100644
--- a/tests/scancode/test_cli.py
+++ b/tests/scancode/test_cli.py
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@
 # from click.testing import CliRunner
 
 from commoncode import fileutils
+from commoncode.fileutils import path_to_bytes
 from commoncode.testcase import FileDrivenTesting
 from commoncode.system import on_linux
 from commoncode.system import on_mac
@@ -47,7 +48,6 @@
 from scancode.cli_test_utils import run_scan_plain
 
 from scancode import cli
-from commoncode.fileutils import path_to_bytes
 
 
 test_env = FileDrivenTesting()
@@ -206,7 +206,7 @@ def test_scan_mark_source_without_info(monkeypatch):
     result_file = test_env.get_temp_file('json')
     expected_file = test_env.get_test_loc('mark_source/without_info.expected.json')
 
-    result = run_scan_click(['--mark-source', test_dir, result_file], monkeypatch)
+    _result = run_scan_click(['--mark-source', test_dir, result_file], monkeypatch)
     check_json_scan(expected_file, result_file)
 
 def test_scan_mark_source_with_info(monkeypatch):
@@ -214,7 +214,7 @@ def test_scan_mark_source_with_info(monkeypatch):
     result_file = test_env.get_temp_file('json')
     expected_file = test_env.get_test_loc('mark_source/with_info.expected.json')
 
-    result = run_scan_click(['--info', '--mark-source', test_dir, result_file], monkeypatch)
+    _result = run_scan_click(['--info', '--mark-source', test_dir, result_file], monkeypatch)
     check_json_scan(expected_file, result_file)
 
 def test_scan_only_findings(monkeypatch):
@@ -222,7 +222,7 @@ def test_scan_only_findings(monkeypatch):
     result_file = test_env.get_temp_file('json')
     expected_file = test_env.get_test_loc('only_findings/expected.json')
 
-    result = run_scan_click(['--only-findings', test_dir, result_file], monkeypatch)
+    _result = run_scan_click(['--only-findings', test_dir, result_file], monkeypatch)
     check_json_scan(expected_file, result_file)
 
 
@@ -451,11 +451,17 @@ def test_scan_does_not_fail_when_scanning_unicode_files_and_paths():
     check_json_scan(test_env.get_test_loc(expected), result_file, strip_dates=True, regen=False)
 
 
+@skipIf(on_windows, 'Python tar cannot extract these files on Windows')
 def test_scan_does_not_fail_when_scanning_unicode_test_files_from_express():
-    test_dir = test_env.get_test_loc(u'unicode_fixtures')
 
-    if on_linux:
-        test_dir = path_to_bytes(test_dir)
+    # On Windows, Python tar cannot extract these files. Other
+    # extractors either fail or change the file name, making the test
+    # moot. Git cannot check these files. So for now it makes no sense
+    # to test this on Windows at all. Extractcode works fine, but does
+    # rename the problematic files.
+
+    test_dir = test_env.extract_test_tar_raw(b'unicode_fixtures.tar.gz')
+    test_dir = path_to_bytes(test_dir)
 
     args = ['-n0', '--info', '--license', '--copyright',
             '--package', '--email', '--url', '--strip-root',
diff --git a/thirdparty/prod/backports.os-0.1.1-py2.py3-none-any.whl b/thirdparty/prod/backports.os-0.1.1-py2.py3-none-any.whl
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..f04e5aa9567
Binary files /dev/null and b/thirdparty/prod/backports.os-0.1.1-py2.py3-none-any.whl differ
diff --git a/thirdparty/prod/backports.os-0.1rc1-py2-none-any.whl b/thirdparty/prod/backports.os-0.1rc1-py2-none-any.whl
deleted file mode 100644
index 9107c2bbe3f..00000000000
Binary files a/thirdparty/prod/backports.os-0.1rc1-py2-none-any.whl and /dev/null differ
diff --git a/thirdparty/prod/backports.os.ABOUT b/thirdparty/prod/backports.os.ABOUT
index 84afe1e2691..9b30807e437 100644
--- a/thirdparty/prod/backports.os.ABOUT
+++ b/thirdparty/prod/backports.os.ABOUT
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
-about_resource: backports.os-0.1rc1-py2-none-any.whl
-version: 0.1rc1
+about_resource: backports.os-0.1.1-py2.py3-none-any.whl
+version: 0.1.1
 name: backports.os
 home_url: https://github.com/pjdelport/backports.os
-download_url: https://pypi.python.org/packages/82/1d/461604fd8b2c6f798a18fb9161019d35c005a489bdd91279dfcf9b65859e/backports.os-0.1rc1-py2-none-any.whl#md5=7677278e0dd1135b7c422495daa72573
+download_url: https://pypi.python.org/packages/5b/0b/5ba79ac5d09e0b38725498e0a212ace2d166c0b7a38a42045df824b68d59/backports.os-0.1.1-py2.py3-none-any.whl
 license_text: 
     - backports.os.LICENSE
     - PSF.LICENSE
diff --git a/thirdparty/prod/backports.os.LICENSE b/thirdparty/prod/backports.os.LICENSE
index 41832c46962..5173da93702 100644
--- a/thirdparty/prod/backports.os.LICENSE
+++ b/thirdparty/prod/backports.os.LICENSE
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-
 Copyright (c) Piët Delport, and Python Software Foundation
 Licensed under the Python license