diff --git a/examples/companion_radio/main.cpp b/examples/companion_radio/main.cpp
index 8a640876..fbb73c8a 100644
--- a/examples/companion_radio/main.cpp
+++ b/examples/companion_radio/main.cpp
@@ -332,7 +332,7 @@ class MyMesh : public BaseChatMesh {
     out_frame[i++] = contact.flags;
     out_frame[i++] = contact.out_path_len;
     memcpy(&out_frame[i], contact.out_path, MAX_PATH_SIZE); i += MAX_PATH_SIZE;
-    memcpy(&out_frame[i], contact.name, 32); i += 32;
+    StrHelper::strzcpy((char *) &out_frame[i], contact.name, 32); i += 32;
     memcpy(&out_frame[i], &contact.last_advert_timestamp, 4); i += 4;
     memcpy(&out_frame[i], &contact.gps_lat, 4); i += 4;
     memcpy(&out_frame[i], &contact.gps_lon, 4); i += 4;
diff --git a/examples/simple_repeater/main.cpp b/examples/simple_repeater/main.cpp
index a0497760..1b79feb4 100644
--- a/examples/simple_repeater/main.cpp
+++ b/examples/simple_repeater/main.cpp
@@ -498,11 +498,9 @@ public:
     _prefs.rx_delay_base =   0.0f;  // turn off by default, was 10.0;
     _prefs.tx_delay_factor = 0.5f;   // was 0.25f
     StrHelper::strncpy(_prefs.node_name, ADVERT_NAME, sizeof(_prefs.node_name));
-    _prefs.node_name[sizeof(_prefs.node_name)-1] = 0;  // truncate if necessary
     _prefs.node_lat = ADVERT_LAT;
     _prefs.node_lon = ADVERT_LON;
     StrHelper::strncpy(_prefs.password, ADMIN_PASSWORD, sizeof(_prefs.password));
-    _prefs.password[sizeof(_prefs.password)-1] = 0;  // truncate if necessary
     _prefs.freq = LORA_FREQ;
     _prefs.tx_power_dbm = LORA_TX_POWER;
     _prefs.advert_interval = 1;  // default to 2 minutes for NEW installs
diff --git a/src/helpers/TxtDataHelpers.cpp b/src/helpers/TxtDataHelpers.cpp
index bac3c28b..234c8328 100644
--- a/src/helpers/TxtDataHelpers.cpp
+++ b/src/helpers/TxtDataHelpers.cpp
@@ -7,3 +7,14 @@ void StrHelper::strncpy(char* dest, const char* src, size_t buf_sz) {
   }
   *dest = 0;  // truncates if needed
 }
+
+void StrHelper::strzcpy(char* dest, const char* src, size_t buf_sz) {
+  while (buf_sz > 1 && *src) {
+    *dest++ = *src++;
+    buf_sz--;
+  }
+  while (buf_sz > 0) {  // pad remaining with nulls
+    *dest++ = 0;
+    buf_sz--;
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/helpers/TxtDataHelpers.h b/src/helpers/TxtDataHelpers.h
index 14526075..589eec9a 100644
--- a/src/helpers/TxtDataHelpers.h
+++ b/src/helpers/TxtDataHelpers.h
@@ -10,4 +10,5 @@
 class StrHelper {
 public:
   static void strncpy(char* dest, const char* src, size_t buf_sz);
+  static void strzcpy(char* dest, const char* src, size_t buf_sz);   // pads with trailing nulls
 };