diff --git a/archival/gunzip.c b/archival/gunzip.c
index d6382aed0..e6b8202c8 100644
--- a/archival/gunzip.c
+++ b/archival/gunzip.c
@@ -592,7 +592,7 @@ int gunzip_main(int argc, char **argv)
 	char ifname[MAX_PATH_LEN + 1];	/* input file name */
 	char ofname[MAX_PATH_LEN + 1];	/* output file name */
 
-	if (strcmp(*argv, "zcat") == 0) {
+	if (strcmp(applet_name, "zcat") == 0) {
 		to_stdout = 1;
 		if (argc == 1) {
 			fromstdin = 1;
diff --git a/coreutils/rmdir.c b/coreutils/rmdir.c
index 0751808c0..c88f42cf5 100644
--- a/coreutils/rmdir.c
+++ b/coreutils/rmdir.c
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ extern int rmdir_main(int argc, char **argv)
 
 	while (--argc > 0) {
 		if (rmdir(*(++argv)) == -1) {
-			fprintf(stderr, "%s: %s\n", *argv, strerror(errno));
+			fprintf(stderr, "%s: %s\n", applet_name, strerror(errno));
 			exit(FALSE);
 		}
 	}
diff --git a/coreutils/test.c b/coreutils/test.c
index 36da4db0b..d7b34a6a4 100644
--- a/coreutils/test.c
+++ b/coreutils/test.c
@@ -183,7 +183,7 @@ test_main(int argc, char** argv)
 {
 	int	res;
 
-	if (strcmp(argv[0], "[") == 0) {
+	if (strcmp(applet_name, "[") == 0) {
 		if (strcmp(argv[--argc], "]"))
 			fatalError("missing ]\n");
 		argv[argc] = NULL;
diff --git a/coreutils/whoami.c b/coreutils/whoami.c
index 950f52fb2..983c6725d 100644
--- a/coreutils/whoami.c
+++ b/coreutils/whoami.c
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ extern int whoami_main(int argc, char **argv)
 		puts(user);
 		exit(TRUE);
 	}
-	fprintf(stderr, "%s: cannot find username for UID %u\n", argv[0],
+	fprintf(stderr, "%s: cannot find username for UID %u\n", applet_name,
 			(unsigned) uid);
 	return(FALSE);
 }
diff --git a/fsck_minix.c b/fsck_minix.c
index 9533f40db..685e0ee6c 100644
--- a/fsck_minix.c
+++ b/fsck_minix.c
@@ -219,7 +219,6 @@ struct minix_dir_entry {
 
 #define BITS_PER_BLOCK (BLOCK_SIZE<<3)
 
-static char *program_name = "fsck.minix";
 static char *program_version = "1.2 - 11/11/96";
 static char *device_name = NULL;
 static int IN;
@@ -293,7 +292,7 @@ static void show_usage(void)
 {
 	fprintf(stderr, "BusyBox v%s (%s) multi-call binary -- GPL2\n\n",
 			BB_VER, BB_BT);
-	fprintf(stderr, "Usage: %s [-larvsmf] /dev/name\n", program_name);
+	fprintf(stderr, "Usage: %s [-larvsmf] /dev/name\n", applet_name);
 #ifndef BB_FEATURE_TRIVIAL_HELP
 	fprintf(stderr,
 			"\nPerforms a consistency check for MINIX filesystems.\n\n");
@@ -312,7 +311,7 @@ static void show_usage(void)
 
 static void die(const char *str)
 {
-	fprintf(stderr, "%s: %s\n", program_name, str);
+	fprintf(stderr, "%s: %s\n", applet_name, str);
 	leave(8);
 }
 
@@ -1367,8 +1366,6 @@ extern int fsck_minix_main(int argc, char **argv)
 	 * that automagically, so we can save a few bytes */
 	//atexit(free_name_list);
 
-	if (argc && *argv)
-		program_name = *argv;
 	if (INODE_SIZE * MINIX_INODES_PER_BLOCK != BLOCK_SIZE)
 		die("bad inode size");
 #ifdef HAVE_MINIX2
@@ -1432,7 +1429,7 @@ extern int fsck_minix_main(int argc, char **argv)
 	 * flags and whether or not the -f switch was specified on the 
 	 * command line.
 	 */
-	printf("%s, %s\n", program_name, program_version);
+	printf("%s, %s\n", applet_name, program_version);
 	if (!(Super.s_state & MINIX_ERROR_FS) &&
 		(Super.s_state & MINIX_VALID_FS) && !force) {
 		if (repair)
diff --git a/gunzip.c b/gunzip.c
index d6382aed0..e6b8202c8 100644
--- a/gunzip.c
+++ b/gunzip.c
@@ -592,7 +592,7 @@ int gunzip_main(int argc, char **argv)
 	char ifname[MAX_PATH_LEN + 1];	/* input file name */
 	char ofname[MAX_PATH_LEN + 1];	/* output file name */
 
-	if (strcmp(*argv, "zcat") == 0) {
+	if (strcmp(applet_name, "zcat") == 0) {
 		to_stdout = 1;
 		if (argc == 1) {
 			fromstdin = 1;
diff --git a/init.c b/init.c
index 79f14ab33..f38d154b7 100644
--- a/init.c
+++ b/init.c
@@ -891,7 +891,7 @@ extern int init_main(int argc, char **argv)
 	/* Expect to be invoked as init with PID=1 or be invoked as linuxrc */
 	if (getpid() != 1
 #ifdef BB_FEATURE_LINUXRC
-			&& strstr(argv[0], "linuxrc") == NULL
+			&& strstr(applet_name, "linuxrc") == NULL
 #endif
 	                  )
 	{
diff --git a/init/init.c b/init/init.c
index 79f14ab33..f38d154b7 100644
--- a/init/init.c
+++ b/init/init.c
@@ -891,7 +891,7 @@ extern int init_main(int argc, char **argv)
 	/* Expect to be invoked as init with PID=1 or be invoked as linuxrc */
 	if (getpid() != 1
 #ifdef BB_FEATURE_LINUXRC
-			&& strstr(argv[0], "linuxrc") == NULL
+			&& strstr(applet_name, "linuxrc") == NULL
 #endif
 	                  )
 	{
diff --git a/kill.c b/kill.c
index a0b93be2b..44cb38395 100644
--- a/kill.c
+++ b/kill.c
@@ -125,8 +125,7 @@ extern int kill_main(int argc, char **argv)
 
 #ifdef BB_KILLALL
 	/* Figure out what we are trying to do here */
-	whichApp = (strcmp(*argv, "killall") == 0)? 
-		KILLALL : KILL; 
+	whichApp = (strcmp(applet_name, "killall") == 0)? KILLALL : KILL; 
 	appUsage = (whichApp == KILLALL)?  killall_usage : kill_usage;
 #else
 	whichApp = KILL;
diff --git a/mkfs_minix.c b/mkfs_minix.c
index c8c91123b..b6f958f46 100644
--- a/mkfs_minix.c
+++ b/mkfs_minix.c
@@ -202,7 +202,6 @@ struct minix_dir_entry {
 
 #define BITS_PER_BLOCK (BLOCK_SIZE<<3)
 
-static char *program_name = "mkfs";
 static char *device_name = NULL;
 static int DEV = -1;
 static long BLOCKS = 0;
@@ -264,7 +263,7 @@ static unsigned long req_nr_inodes = 0;
  */
 static volatile void die(char *str)
 {
-	fprintf(stderr, "%s: %s\n", program_name, str);
+	fprintf(stderr, "%s: %s\n", applet_name, str);
 	exit(8);
 }
 
@@ -275,7 +274,7 @@ static volatile void show_usage()
 			BB_VER, BB_BT);
 	fprintf(stderr,
 			"Usage: %s [-c | -l filename] [-nXX] [-iXX] /dev/name [blocks]\n",
-			program_name);
+			applet_name);
 #ifndef BB_FEATURE_TRIVIAL_HELP
 	fprintf(stderr, "\nMake a MINIX filesystem.\n\n");
 	fprintf(stderr, "Options:\n");
@@ -745,8 +744,6 @@ extern int mkfs_minix_main(int argc, char **argv)
 	char *listfile = NULL;
 	int stopIt=FALSE;
 
-	if (argc && *argv)
-		program_name = *argv;
 	if (INODE_SIZE * MINIX_INODES_PER_BLOCK != BLOCK_SIZE)
 		die("bad inode size");
 #ifdef HAVE_MINIX2
@@ -818,7 +815,7 @@ extern int mkfs_minix_main(int argc, char **argv)
 						version2 = 1;
 #else
 						fprintf(stderr, "%s: not compiled with minix v2 support\n",
-								program_name, device_name);
+								applet_name, device_name);
 						exit(-1);
 #endif
 						break;
diff --git a/mkswap.c b/mkswap.c
index fc37368f4..20096361f 100644
--- a/mkswap.c
+++ b/mkswap.c
@@ -69,7 +69,6 @@ static const char mkswap_usage[] =
 #define BLKGETSIZE _IO(0x12,96)
 #endif
 
-static char *program_name = "mkswap";
 static char *device_name = NULL;
 static int DEV = -1;
 static long PAGES = 0;
@@ -205,7 +204,7 @@ static int bit_test_and_clear(unsigned int *addr, unsigned int nr)
 
 void die(const char *str)
 {
-	fprintf(stderr, "%s: %s\n", program_name, str);
+	fprintf(stderr, "%s: %s\n", applet_name, str);
 	exit(FALSE);
 }
 
@@ -316,9 +315,6 @@ int mkswap_main(int argc, char **argv)
 	int offset;
 	int force = 0;
 
-	if (argc && *argv)
-		program_name = *argv;
-
 	init_signature_page();		/* get pagesize */
 
 	while (argc-- > 1) {
@@ -350,7 +346,7 @@ int mkswap_main(int argc, char **argv)
 	}
 	if (!device_name) {
 		fprintf(stderr,
-				"%s: error: Nowhere to set up swap on?\n", program_name);
+				"%s: error: Nowhere to set up swap on?\n", applet_name);
 		usage(mkswap_usage);
 	}
 	sz = get_size(device_name);
@@ -360,7 +356,7 @@ int mkswap_main(int argc, char **argv)
 		fprintf(stderr,
 				"%s: error: "
 				"size %ld is larger than device size %d\n",
-				program_name,
+				applet_name,
 				PAGES * (pagesize / 1024), sz * (pagesize / 1024));
 		exit(FALSE);
 	}
@@ -377,13 +373,13 @@ int mkswap_main(int argc, char **argv)
 	}
 	if (version != 0 && version != 1) {
 		fprintf(stderr, "%s: error: unknown version %d\n",
-				program_name, version);
+				applet_name, version);
 		usage(mkswap_usage);
 	}
 	if (PAGES < 10) {
 		fprintf(stderr,
 				"%s: error: swap area needs to be at least %ldkB\n",
-				program_name, (long) (10 * pagesize / 1024));
+				applet_name, (long) (10 * pagesize / 1024));
 		usage(mkswap_usage);
 	}
 #if 0
@@ -402,7 +398,7 @@ int mkswap_main(int argc, char **argv)
 	if (PAGES > maxpages) {
 		PAGES = maxpages;
 		fprintf(stderr, "%s: warning: truncating swap area to %ldkB\n",
-				program_name, PAGES * pagesize / 1024);
+				applet_name, PAGES * pagesize / 1024);
 	}
 
 	DEV = open(device_name, O_RDWR);
@@ -432,7 +428,7 @@ int mkswap_main(int argc, char **argv)
 %s: Device '%s' contains a valid Sun disklabel.\n\
 This probably means creating v0 swap would destroy your partition table\n\
 No swap created. If you really want to create swap v0 on that device, use\n\
-the -f option to force it.\n", program_name, device_name);
+the -f option to force it.\n", applet_name, device_name);
 				exit(FALSE);
 			}
 		}
diff --git a/procps/kill.c b/procps/kill.c
index a0b93be2b..44cb38395 100644
--- a/procps/kill.c
+++ b/procps/kill.c
@@ -125,8 +125,7 @@ extern int kill_main(int argc, char **argv)
 
 #ifdef BB_KILLALL
 	/* Figure out what we are trying to do here */
-	whichApp = (strcmp(*argv, "killall") == 0)? 
-		KILLALL : KILL; 
+	whichApp = (strcmp(applet_name, "killall") == 0)? KILLALL : KILL; 
 	appUsage = (whichApp == KILLALL)?  killall_usage : kill_usage;
 #else
 	whichApp = KILL;
diff --git a/rmdir.c b/rmdir.c
index 0751808c0..c88f42cf5 100644
--- a/rmdir.c
+++ b/rmdir.c
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ extern int rmdir_main(int argc, char **argv)
 
 	while (--argc > 0) {
 		if (rmdir(*(++argv)) == -1) {
-			fprintf(stderr, "%s: %s\n", *argv, strerror(errno));
+			fprintf(stderr, "%s: %s\n", applet_name, strerror(errno));
 			exit(FALSE);
 		}
 	}
diff --git a/swaponoff.c b/swaponoff.c
index b43f3cdc1..a79b93a23 100644
--- a/swaponoff.c
+++ b/swaponoff.c
@@ -34,7 +34,6 @@ _syscall1(int, swapoff, const char *, path);
 
 
 static int whichApp;
-static const char *appName;
 
 static const char swapoff_usage[] =
 	"swapoff [OPTION] [device]\n"
@@ -69,7 +68,7 @@ static void swap_enable_disable(char *device)
 		status = swapoff(device);
 
 	if (status != 0) {
-		perror(appName);
+		perror(applet_name);
 		exit(FALSE);
 	}
 }
@@ -95,12 +94,9 @@ static void do_em_all()
 
 extern int swap_on_off_main(int argc, char **argv)
 {
-	if (strcmp(*argv, "swapon") == 0) {
-		appName = *argv;
+	if (strcmp(applet_name, "swapon") == 0) {
 		whichApp = SWAPON_APP;
-
 	} else {
-		appName = *argv;
 		whichApp = SWAPOFF_APP;
 	}
 
diff --git a/test.c b/test.c
index 36da4db0b..d7b34a6a4 100644
--- a/test.c
+++ b/test.c
@@ -183,7 +183,7 @@ test_main(int argc, char** argv)
 {
 	int	res;
 
-	if (strcmp(argv[0], "[") == 0) {
+	if (strcmp(applet_name, "[") == 0) {
 		if (strcmp(argv[--argc], "]"))
 			fatalError("missing ]\n");
 		argv[argc] = NULL;
diff --git a/util-linux/fsck_minix.c b/util-linux/fsck_minix.c
index 9533f40db..685e0ee6c 100644
--- a/util-linux/fsck_minix.c
+++ b/util-linux/fsck_minix.c
@@ -219,7 +219,6 @@ struct minix_dir_entry {
 
 #define BITS_PER_BLOCK (BLOCK_SIZE<<3)
 
-static char *program_name = "fsck.minix";
 static char *program_version = "1.2 - 11/11/96";
 static char *device_name = NULL;
 static int IN;
@@ -293,7 +292,7 @@ static void show_usage(void)
 {
 	fprintf(stderr, "BusyBox v%s (%s) multi-call binary -- GPL2\n\n",
 			BB_VER, BB_BT);
-	fprintf(stderr, "Usage: %s [-larvsmf] /dev/name\n", program_name);
+	fprintf(stderr, "Usage: %s [-larvsmf] /dev/name\n", applet_name);
 #ifndef BB_FEATURE_TRIVIAL_HELP
 	fprintf(stderr,
 			"\nPerforms a consistency check for MINIX filesystems.\n\n");
@@ -312,7 +311,7 @@ static void show_usage(void)
 
 static void die(const char *str)
 {
-	fprintf(stderr, "%s: %s\n", program_name, str);
+	fprintf(stderr, "%s: %s\n", applet_name, str);
 	leave(8);
 }
 
@@ -1367,8 +1366,6 @@ extern int fsck_minix_main(int argc, char **argv)
 	 * that automagically, so we can save a few bytes */
 	//atexit(free_name_list);
 
-	if (argc && *argv)
-		program_name = *argv;
 	if (INODE_SIZE * MINIX_INODES_PER_BLOCK != BLOCK_SIZE)
 		die("bad inode size");
 #ifdef HAVE_MINIX2
@@ -1432,7 +1429,7 @@ extern int fsck_minix_main(int argc, char **argv)
 	 * flags and whether or not the -f switch was specified on the 
 	 * command line.
 	 */
-	printf("%s, %s\n", program_name, program_version);
+	printf("%s, %s\n", applet_name, program_version);
 	if (!(Super.s_state & MINIX_ERROR_FS) &&
 		(Super.s_state & MINIX_VALID_FS) && !force) {
 		if (repair)
diff --git a/util-linux/mkfs_minix.c b/util-linux/mkfs_minix.c
index c8c91123b..b6f958f46 100644
--- a/util-linux/mkfs_minix.c
+++ b/util-linux/mkfs_minix.c
@@ -202,7 +202,6 @@ struct minix_dir_entry {
 
 #define BITS_PER_BLOCK (BLOCK_SIZE<<3)
 
-static char *program_name = "mkfs";
 static char *device_name = NULL;
 static int DEV = -1;
 static long BLOCKS = 0;
@@ -264,7 +263,7 @@ static unsigned long req_nr_inodes = 0;
  */
 static volatile void die(char *str)
 {
-	fprintf(stderr, "%s: %s\n", program_name, str);
+	fprintf(stderr, "%s: %s\n", applet_name, str);
 	exit(8);
 }
 
@@ -275,7 +274,7 @@ static volatile void show_usage()
 			BB_VER, BB_BT);
 	fprintf(stderr,
 			"Usage: %s [-c | -l filename] [-nXX] [-iXX] /dev/name [blocks]\n",
-			program_name);
+			applet_name);
 #ifndef BB_FEATURE_TRIVIAL_HELP
 	fprintf(stderr, "\nMake a MINIX filesystem.\n\n");
 	fprintf(stderr, "Options:\n");
@@ -745,8 +744,6 @@ extern int mkfs_minix_main(int argc, char **argv)
 	char *listfile = NULL;
 	int stopIt=FALSE;
 
-	if (argc && *argv)
-		program_name = *argv;
 	if (INODE_SIZE * MINIX_INODES_PER_BLOCK != BLOCK_SIZE)
 		die("bad inode size");
 #ifdef HAVE_MINIX2
@@ -818,7 +815,7 @@ extern int mkfs_minix_main(int argc, char **argv)
 						version2 = 1;
 #else
 						fprintf(stderr, "%s: not compiled with minix v2 support\n",
-								program_name, device_name);
+								applet_name, device_name);
 						exit(-1);
 #endif
 						break;
diff --git a/util-linux/mkswap.c b/util-linux/mkswap.c
index fc37368f4..20096361f 100644
--- a/util-linux/mkswap.c
+++ b/util-linux/mkswap.c
@@ -69,7 +69,6 @@ static const char mkswap_usage[] =
 #define BLKGETSIZE _IO(0x12,96)
 #endif
 
-static char *program_name = "mkswap";
 static char *device_name = NULL;
 static int DEV = -1;
 static long PAGES = 0;
@@ -205,7 +204,7 @@ static int bit_test_and_clear(unsigned int *addr, unsigned int nr)
 
 void die(const char *str)
 {
-	fprintf(stderr, "%s: %s\n", program_name, str);
+	fprintf(stderr, "%s: %s\n", applet_name, str);
 	exit(FALSE);
 }
 
@@ -316,9 +315,6 @@ int mkswap_main(int argc, char **argv)
 	int offset;
 	int force = 0;
 
-	if (argc && *argv)
-		program_name = *argv;
-
 	init_signature_page();		/* get pagesize */
 
 	while (argc-- > 1) {
@@ -350,7 +346,7 @@ int mkswap_main(int argc, char **argv)
 	}
 	if (!device_name) {
 		fprintf(stderr,
-				"%s: error: Nowhere to set up swap on?\n", program_name);
+				"%s: error: Nowhere to set up swap on?\n", applet_name);
 		usage(mkswap_usage);
 	}
 	sz = get_size(device_name);
@@ -360,7 +356,7 @@ int mkswap_main(int argc, char **argv)
 		fprintf(stderr,
 				"%s: error: "
 				"size %ld is larger than device size %d\n",
-				program_name,
+				applet_name,
 				PAGES * (pagesize / 1024), sz * (pagesize / 1024));
 		exit(FALSE);
 	}
@@ -377,13 +373,13 @@ int mkswap_main(int argc, char **argv)
 	}
 	if (version != 0 && version != 1) {
 		fprintf(stderr, "%s: error: unknown version %d\n",
-				program_name, version);
+				applet_name, version);
 		usage(mkswap_usage);
 	}
 	if (PAGES < 10) {
 		fprintf(stderr,
 				"%s: error: swap area needs to be at least %ldkB\n",
-				program_name, (long) (10 * pagesize / 1024));
+				applet_name, (long) (10 * pagesize / 1024));
 		usage(mkswap_usage);
 	}
 #if 0
@@ -402,7 +398,7 @@ int mkswap_main(int argc, char **argv)
 	if (PAGES > maxpages) {
 		PAGES = maxpages;
 		fprintf(stderr, "%s: warning: truncating swap area to %ldkB\n",
-				program_name, PAGES * pagesize / 1024);
+				applet_name, PAGES * pagesize / 1024);
 	}
 
 	DEV = open(device_name, O_RDWR);
@@ -432,7 +428,7 @@ int mkswap_main(int argc, char **argv)
 %s: Device '%s' contains a valid Sun disklabel.\n\
 This probably means creating v0 swap would destroy your partition table\n\
 No swap created. If you really want to create swap v0 on that device, use\n\
-the -f option to force it.\n", program_name, device_name);
+the -f option to force it.\n", applet_name, device_name);
 				exit(FALSE);
 			}
 		}
diff --git a/util-linux/swaponoff.c b/util-linux/swaponoff.c
index b43f3cdc1..a79b93a23 100644
--- a/util-linux/swaponoff.c
+++ b/util-linux/swaponoff.c
@@ -34,7 +34,6 @@ _syscall1(int, swapoff, const char *, path);
 
 
 static int whichApp;
-static const char *appName;
 
 static const char swapoff_usage[] =
 	"swapoff [OPTION] [device]\n"
@@ -69,7 +68,7 @@ static void swap_enable_disable(char *device)
 		status = swapoff(device);
 
 	if (status != 0) {
-		perror(appName);
+		perror(applet_name);
 		exit(FALSE);
 	}
 }
@@ -95,12 +94,9 @@ static void do_em_all()
 
 extern int swap_on_off_main(int argc, char **argv)
 {
-	if (strcmp(*argv, "swapon") == 0) {
-		appName = *argv;
+	if (strcmp(applet_name, "swapon") == 0) {
 		whichApp = SWAPON_APP;
-
 	} else {
-		appName = *argv;
 		whichApp = SWAPOFF_APP;
 	}
 
diff --git a/whoami.c b/whoami.c
index 950f52fb2..983c6725d 100644
--- a/whoami.c
+++ b/whoami.c
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ extern int whoami_main(int argc, char **argv)
 		puts(user);
 		exit(TRUE);
 	}
-	fprintf(stderr, "%s: cannot find username for UID %u\n", argv[0],
+	fprintf(stderr, "%s: cannot find username for UID %u\n", applet_name,
 			(unsigned) uid);
 	return(FALSE);
 }