diff --git a/xed/xed-io-error-info-bar.c b/xed/xed-io-error-info-bar.c
index 7c298e74..17d12351 100644
--- a/xed/xed-io-error-info-bar.c
+++ b/xed/xed-io-error-info-bar.c
@@ -1136,3 +1136,61 @@ xed_invalid_character_info_bar_new (GFile *location)
 
     return info_bar;
 }
+
+GtkWidget *
+xed_binary_file_warning_info_bar_new (GFile       *location,
+                                      const gchar *content_type)
+{
+    GtkWidget *info_bar;
+    gchar *full_formatted_uri;
+    gchar *temp_uri_for_display;
+    gchar *uri_for_display;
+    gchar *primary_text;
+    gchar *secondary_text;
+
+    g_return_val_if_fail (G_IS_FILE (location), NULL);
+
+    full_formatted_uri = g_file_get_parse_name (location);
+    temp_uri_for_display = xed_utils_str_middle_truncate (full_formatted_uri, MAX_URI_IN_DIALOG_LENGTH);
+    g_free (full_formatted_uri);
+
+    uri_for_display = g_markup_printf_escaped ("<i>%s</i>", temp_uri_for_display);
+    g_free (temp_uri_for_display);
+
+    info_bar = gtk_info_bar_new ();
+
+    gtk_info_bar_add_button (GTK_INFO_BAR (info_bar),
+                             _("Open Any_way"),
+                             GTK_RESPONSE_YES);
+    gtk_info_bar_add_button (GTK_INFO_BAR (info_bar),
+                             _("D_on't Open"),
+                             GTK_RESPONSE_CANCEL);
+    gtk_info_bar_set_message_type (GTK_INFO_BAR (info_bar), GTK_MESSAGE_WARNING);
+
+    primary_text = g_strdup_printf (_("The file %s appears to be a binary file."), uri_for_display);
+    g_free (uri_for_display);
+
+    if (content_type != NULL)
+    {
+        gchar *desc = g_content_type_get_description (content_type);
+
+        secondary_text = g_strdup_printf (
+            _("The file type is \"%s\". Opening binary files in a text editor "
+              "can cause the application to become unresponsive."),
+            desc);
+        g_free (desc);
+    }
+    else
+    {
+        secondary_text = g_strdup (
+            _("Opening binary files in a text editor can cause the application "
+              "to become unresponsive."));
+    }
+
+    set_info_bar_text_and_icon (info_bar, "xsi-dialog-warning-symbolic",
+                                primary_text, secondary_text);
+    g_free (primary_text);
+    g_free (secondary_text);
+
+    return info_bar;
+}
diff --git a/xed/xed-io-error-info-bar.h b/xed/xed-io-error-info-bar.h
index 3bf7ea49..8299091b 100644
--- a/xed/xed-io-error-info-bar.h
+++ b/xed/xed-io-error-info-bar.h
@@ -64,6 +64,9 @@ GtkWidget *xed_externally_modified_info_bar_new (GFile    *location,
 
 GtkWidget *xed_invalid_character_info_bar_new (GFile *location);
 
+GtkWidget *xed_binary_file_warning_info_bar_new (GFile       *location,
+                                                  const gchar *content_type);
+
 G_END_DECLS
 
 #endif  /* __XED_IO_ERROR_INFO_BAR_H__  */
diff --git a/xed/xed-tab.c b/xed/xed-tab.c
index 4ee03a8d..dea6b129 100644
--- a/xed/xed-tab.c
+++ b/xed/xed-tab.c
@@ -83,6 +83,9 @@ struct _XedTabPrivate
 
     /*tmp data for loading */
     guint user_requested_encoding : 1;
+
+    /* Set after user confirms opening a binary file */
+    guint binary_check_done : 1;
 };
 
 typedef struct _SaverData SaverData;
@@ -1961,6 +1964,106 @@ load (XedTab                  *tab,
                                        tab);
 }
 
+/* Check if a file appears to be binary by reading the first chunk and
+ * looking for NUL bytes, which are almost never present in text files.
+ * Also checks the content type via GIO.
+ * Returns the content type string (caller must free) or NULL if text.
+ */
+static gchar *
+check_file_is_binary (GFile *location)
+{
+    GFileInfo *info;
+    const gchar *content_type;
+    GFileInputStream *stream;
+    guchar buf[8192];
+    gssize bytes_read;
+    gssize i;
+
+    info = g_file_query_info (location,
+                              G_FILE_ATTRIBUTE_STANDARD_CONTENT_TYPE,
+                              G_FILE_QUERY_INFO_NONE,
+                              NULL,
+                              NULL);
+
+    if (info != NULL)
+    {
+        content_type = g_file_info_get_content_type (info);
+
+        if (content_type != NULL &&
+            !g_content_type_is_unknown (content_type) &&
+            !g_content_type_is_a (content_type, "text/plain") &&
+            !g_content_type_equals (content_type, "application/xml") &&
+            !g_content_type_is_a (content_type, "application/xml") &&
+            !g_content_type_equals (content_type, "application/json") &&
+            !g_content_type_equals (content_type, "application/javascript") &&
+            !g_content_type_equals (content_type, "image/svg+xml"))
+        {
+            gchar *ret = g_strdup (content_type);
+            g_object_unref (info);
+            return ret;
+        }
+
+        g_object_unref (info);
+    }
+
+    /* Fallback: read the first 8KB and check for NUL bytes */
+    stream = g_file_read (location, NULL, NULL);
+
+    if (stream == NULL)
+    {
+        return NULL;
+    }
+
+    bytes_read = g_input_stream_read (G_INPUT_STREAM (stream),
+                                      buf,
+                                      sizeof (buf),
+                                      NULL,
+                                      NULL);
+    g_object_unref (stream);
+
+    if (bytes_read <= 0)
+    {
+        return NULL;
+    }
+
+    for (i = 0; i < bytes_read; i++)
+    {
+        if (buf[i] == '\0')
+        {
+            return g_strdup ("application/octet-stream");
+        }
+    }
+
+    return NULL;
+}
+
+static void
+binary_file_warning_info_bar_response (GtkWidget *info_bar,
+                                       gint       response_id,
+                                       XedTab    *tab)
+{
+    GFile *location;
+    GtkSourceFile *file;
+    XedDocument *doc;
+
+    doc = xed_tab_get_document (tab);
+    file = xed_document_get_file (doc);
+    location = gtk_source_file_get_location (file);
+
+    set_info_bar (tab, NULL);
+
+    if (response_id == GTK_RESPONSE_YES)
+    {
+        /* User chose "Open Anyway" — skip binary check and load */
+        tab->priv->binary_check_done = TRUE;
+        _xed_tab_load (tab, location, NULL, 0, FALSE);
+    }
+    else
+    {
+        remove_tab (tab);
+    }
+}
+
 void
 _xed_tab_load (XedTab                  *tab,
                GFile                   *location,
@@ -1975,6 +2078,33 @@ _xed_tab_load (XedTab                  *tab,
     g_return_if_fail (G_IS_FILE (location));
     g_return_if_fail (tab->priv->state == XED_TAB_STATE_NORMAL);
 
+    /* Check for binary files before loading to prevent UI freeze.
+     * Binary files without line breaks cause Pango text shaping to
+     * block the main thread indefinitely (see issue #491, #591).
+     */
+    if (!tab->priv->binary_check_done && !create)
+    {
+        gchar *binary_type = check_file_is_binary (location);
+
+        if (binary_type != NULL)
+        {
+            GtkWidget *info_bar;
+
+            info_bar = xed_binary_file_warning_info_bar_new (location, binary_type);
+            g_free (binary_type);
+
+            g_signal_connect (info_bar, "response",
+                              G_CALLBACK (binary_file_warning_info_bar_response), tab);
+
+            set_info_bar (tab, info_bar);
+            gtk_info_bar_set_default_response (GTK_INFO_BAR (info_bar), GTK_RESPONSE_CANCEL);
+            gtk_widget_show (info_bar);
+            return;
+        }
+    }
+
+    tab->priv->binary_check_done = FALSE;
+
     xed_tab_set_state (tab, XED_TAB_STATE_LOADING);
 
     doc = xed_tab_get_document (tab);
diff --git a/xed/xed-window.c b/xed/xed-window.c
index 5c9356ca..87c989ed 100644
--- a/xed/xed-window.c
+++ b/xed/xed-window.c
@@ -1791,18 +1791,30 @@ update_cursor_position_statusbar (GtkTextBuffer *buffer,
 
     tab_size = gtk_source_view_get_tab_width (GTK_SOURCE_VIEW(view));
 
-    while (!gtk_text_iter_equal (&start, &iter))
+    /* For very long lines (e.g. binary files opened as text), the
+     * character-by-character iteration below becomes extremely slow
+     * and can freeze the UI. Use the offset directly if the line is
+     * too long for the O(n) scan to be practical.
+     */
+    if (gtk_text_iter_get_chars_in_line (&start) > 10000)
     {
-        /* FIXME: Are we Unicode compliant here? */
-        if (gtk_text_iter_get_char (&start) == '\t')
-        {
-            col += (tab_size - (col % tab_size));
-        }
-        else
+        col = gtk_text_iter_get_line_offset (&iter);
+    }
+    else
+    {
+        while (!gtk_text_iter_equal (&start, &iter))
         {
-            ++col;
+            /* FIXME: Are we Unicode compliant here? */
+            if (gtk_text_iter_get_char (&start) == '\t')
+            {
+                col += (tab_size - (col % tab_size));
+            }
+            else
+            {
+                ++col;
+            }
+            gtk_text_iter_forward_char (&start);
         }
-        gtk_text_iter_forward_char (&start);
     }
 
     xed_statusbar_set_cursor_position (XED_STATUSBAR(window->priv->statusbar), row + 1, col + 1);