diff --git a/system/database/DB_cache.php b/system/database/DB_cache.php
index 14f3c21..ba91103 100644
--- a/system/database/DB_cache.php
+++ b/system/database/DB_cache.php
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@
 		$segment_two = ($this->CI->uri->segment(2) == FALSE) ? 'index' : $this->CI->uri->segment(2);
 		$filepath = $this->db->cachedir.$segment_one.'+'.$segment_two.'/'.md5($sql);
 
-		if (FALSE === ($cachedata = read_file($filepath)))
+		if (FALSE === ($cachedata = file_get_contents($filepath)))
 		{
 			return FALSE;
 		}
diff --git a/system/helpers/file_helper.php b/system/helpers/file_helper.php
index d53d986..b717aaa 100644
--- a/system/helpers/file_helper.php
+++ b/system/helpers/file_helper.php
@@ -44,38 +44,15 @@
 	 *
 	 * Opens the file specfied in the path and returns it as a string.
 	 *
+	 * This function is DEPRECATED and should be removed in
+	 * CodeIgniter 3.1+. Use file_get_contents() instead.
+	 *
 	 * @param	string	path to file
 	 * @return	string
 	 */
 	function read_file($file)
 	{
-		if ( ! file_exists($file))
-		{
-			return FALSE;
-		}
-
-		if (function_exists('file_get_contents'))
-		{
-			return file_get_contents($file);
-		}
-
-		if ( ! $fp = @fopen($file, FOPEN_READ))
-		{
-			return FALSE;
-		}
-
-		flock($fp, LOCK_SH);
-
-		$data = '';
-		if (filesize($file) > 0)
-		{
-			$data =& fread($fp, filesize($file));
-		}
-
-		flock($fp, LOCK_UN);
-		fclose($fp);
-
-		return $data;
+		return file_get_contents($file);
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/system/helpers/security_helper.php b/system/helpers/security_helper.php
index 6187a4a..3e6e914 100644
--- a/system/helpers/security_helper.php
+++ b/system/helpers/security_helper.php
@@ -77,6 +77,9 @@
 	/**
 	 * Hash encode a string
 	 *
+	 * This function is DEPRECATED and should be removed in
+	 * CodeIgniter 3.1+. Use hash() instead.
+	 *
 	 * @param	string
 	 * @param	string
 	 * @return	string
diff --git a/system/libraries/Cache/drivers/Cache_file.php b/system/libraries/Cache/drivers/Cache_file.php
index ce2c2b1..5170de8 100644
--- a/system/libraries/Cache/drivers/Cache_file.php
+++ b/system/libraries/Cache/drivers/Cache_file.php
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@
 			return FALSE;
 		}
 
-		$data = unserialize(read_file($this->_cache_path.$id));
+		$data = unserialize(file_get_contents($this->_cache_path.$id));
 
 		if (time() >  $data['time'] + $data['ttl'])
 		{
@@ -165,7 +165,7 @@
 			return FALSE;
 		}
 
-		$data = unserialize(read_file($this->_cache_path.$id));
+		$data = unserialize(file_get_contents($this->_cache_path.$id));
 
 		if (is_array($data))
 		{
diff --git a/user_guide_src/source/changelog.rst b/user_guide_src/source/changelog.rst
index 211e9ac..7180c2d 100644
--- a/user_guide_src/source/changelog.rst
+++ b/user_guide_src/source/changelog.rst
@@ -44,19 +44,21 @@
 
 -  Helpers
 
-   -  create_captcha() accepts additional colors parameter, allowing for color customization
-   -  url_title() will now trim extra dashes from beginning and end.
+   -  ``create_captcha()`` accepts additional colors parameter, allowing for color customization.
+   -  ``url_title()`` will now trim extra dashes from beginning and end.
    -  Added XHTML Basic 1.1 doctype to :doc:`HTML Helper <helpers/html_helper>`.
-   -  Changed humanize() to include a second param for the separator.
+   -  Changed ``humanize()`` to include a second param for the separator.
    -  Refactored ``plural()`` and ``singular()`` to avoid double pluralization and support more words.
    -  Added an optional third parameter to ``force_download()`` that enables/disables sending the actual file MIME type in the Content-Type header (disabled by default).
    -  Added an optional third parameter to ``timespan()`` that constrains the number of time units displayed.
-   -  Added a work-around in force_download() for a bug Android <= 2.1, where the filename extension needs to be in uppercase.
-   -  form_dropdown() will now also take an array for unity with other form helpers.
-   -  set_realpath() can now also handle file paths as opposed to just directories.
-   -  do_hash() now uses PHP's native hash() function, supporting more algorithms.
-   -  Added an optional paramater to ``delete_files()`` to enable it to skip deleting files such as .htaccess and index.html.
-   -  Removed deprecated helper function ``js_insert_smiley()`` from smiley helper.
+   -  Added a work-around in ``force_download()`` for a bug Android <= 2.1, where the filename extension needs to be in uppercase.
+   -  ``form_dropdown()`` will now also take an array for unity with other form helpers.
+   -  ``do_hash()`` now uses PHP's native ``hash()`` function (supporting more algorithms) and is deprecated.
+   -  Removed previously deprecated helper function ``js_insert_smiley()`` from smiley helper.
+   -  :doc:`File Helper <helpers/file_helper>` changes include:
+	 - ``set_realpath()`` can now also handle file paths as opposed to just directories.
+	 - Added an optional paramater to ``delete_files()`` to enable it to skip deleting files such as .htaccess and index.html.
+	 - ``read_file()`` is now a deprecated alias of ``file_get_contents()``.
 
 -  Database
 
diff --git a/user_guide_src/source/helpers/file_helper.rst b/user_guide_src/source/helpers/file_helper.rst
index bfc271e..60c5aa9 100644
--- a/user_guide_src/source/helpers/file_helper.rst
+++ b/user_guide_src/source/helpers/file_helper.rst
@@ -32,6 +32,9 @@
 	controller or view files. CodeIgniter uses a front controller so paths
 	are always relative to the main site index.
 
+.. note:: This function is DEPRECATED. Use the native ``file_get_contents()``
+	instead.
+
 If your server is running an `open_basedir` restriction this function might not work if you are trying to access a file above the calling script.
 
 write_file('path', $data)
diff --git a/user_guide_src/source/helpers/security_helper.rst b/user_guide_src/source/helpers/security_helper.rst
index b1bcf2b..ec0be28 100644
--- a/user_guide_src/source/helpers/security_helper.rst
+++ b/user_guide_src/source/helpers/security_helper.rst
@@ -43,8 +43,10 @@
 	$str = do_hash($str); // SHA1
 	$str = do_hash($str, 'md5'); // MD5
 
-.. note:: This function was formerly named dohash(), which has been
-	removed in favor of `do_hash()`.
+.. note:: This function was formerly named ``dohash()``, which has been
+	removed in favor of ``do_hash()``.
+
+.. note:: This function is DEPRECATED. Use the native ``hash()`` instead.
 
 strip_image_tags()
 ==================
diff --git a/user_guide_src/source/helpers/string_helper.rst b/user_guide_src/source/helpers/string_helper.rst
index 2d23fb0..19500aa 100644
--- a/user_guide_src/source/helpers/string_helper.rst
+++ b/user_guide_src/source/helpers/string_helper.rst
@@ -36,8 +36,7 @@
 -  **unique**: Encrypted with MD5 and uniqid(). Note: The length
    parameter is not available for this type. Returns a fixed length 32
    character string.
--  **sha1**: An encrypted random number based on do_hash() from the
-   :doc:`security helper <security_helper>`.
+-  **sha1**: An encrypted random number based on ``sha1()``.
 
 Usage example