diff --git a/source/org/jivesoftware/smack/SSLXMPPConnection.java b/source/org/jivesoftware/smack/SSLXMPPConnection.java
index 33c8d883f..ba47e61e4 100644
--- a/source/org/jivesoftware/smack/SSLXMPPConnection.java
+++ b/source/org/jivesoftware/smack/SSLXMPPConnection.java
@@ -60,15 +60,11 @@ import java.net.*;
 import java.security.NoSuchAlgorithmException;
 import java.security.KeyManagementException;
 import javax.net.SocketFactory;
-import javax.net.ssl.SSLSocketFactory;
 import com.sun.net.ssl.X509TrustManager;
 import java.security.cert.X509Certificate;
 import java.security.cert.CertificateExpiredException;
 import java.security.cert.CertificateNotYetValidException;
 
-import org.jivesoftware.smack.packet.XMPPError;
-
-
 /**
  * Creates an SSL connection to a XMPP server.
  *
@@ -76,6 +72,8 @@ import org.jivesoftware.smack.packet.XMPPError;
  */
 public class SSLXMPPConnection extends XMPPConnection {
 
+    private static SocketFactory socketFactory = new DummySSLSocketFactory();
+
     /**
      * Creates a new SSL connection to the specified host on the default
      * SSL port (5223).
@@ -103,21 +101,7 @@ public class SSLXMPPConnection extends XMPPConnection {
      *      appropiate error messages to end-users.
      */
     public SSLXMPPConnection(String host, int port) throws XMPPException {
-        this.host = host;
-        this.port = port;
-        try {
-            SSLSocketFactory sslFactory = new DummySSLSocketFactory();
-            this.socket = sslFactory.createSocket(host, port);
-        }
-        catch (UnknownHostException uhe) {
-            throw new XMPPException("Could not connect to " + host + ":" + port + ".",
-                    new XMPPError(504), uhe);
-        }
-        catch (IOException ioe) {
-            throw new XMPPException("XMPPError connecting to " + host + ":" + port + ".",
-                    new XMPPError(502), ioe);
-        }
-        super.init();
+        super(host, port, socketFactory);
     }
 
     public boolean isSecureConnection() {
diff --git a/source/org/jivesoftware/smack/XMPPConnection.java b/source/org/jivesoftware/smack/XMPPConnection.java
index 5e50da130..c7875f946 100644
--- a/source/org/jivesoftware/smack/XMPPConnection.java
+++ b/source/org/jivesoftware/smack/XMPPConnection.java
@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@ import org.jivesoftware.smack.packet.*;
 import org.jivesoftware.smack.debugger.*;
 import org.jivesoftware.smack.filter.*;
 
+import javax.net.SocketFactory;
 import java.lang.reflect.Constructor;
 import java.net.*;
 import java.util.*;
@@ -127,13 +128,6 @@ public class XMPPConnection {
     Writer writer;
     Reader reader;
 
-    /**
-     * Constructor for use by classes extending this one.
-     */
-    XMPPConnection() {
-
-    }
-
     /**
      * Creates a new connection to the specified XMPP server. The default port of 5222 will
      * be used.
@@ -150,7 +144,7 @@ public class XMPPConnection {
     }
 
     /**
-     * Creates a new connection to the  to the specified XMPP server on the given port.
+     * Creates a new connection to the specified XMPP server on the given port.
      *
      * @param host the name of the XMPP server to connect to; e.g. <tt>jivesoftware.com</tt>.
      * @param port the port on the server that should be used; e.g. <tt>5222</tt>.
@@ -181,6 +175,42 @@ public class XMPPConnection {
         init();
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Creates a new connection to the specified XMPP server on the given port using the specified SocketFactory.
+     *
+     * <p>A custom SocketFactory allows fine-grained control of the actual connection to the XMPP server. A typical
+     * use for a custom SocketFactory is when connecting through a SOCKS proxy.
+     *
+     * @param host the name of the XMPP server to connect to; e.g. <tt>jivesoftware.com</tt>.
+     * @param port the port on the server that should be used; e.g. <tt>5222</tt>.
+     * @param socketFactory a SocketFactory that will be used to create the socket to the XMPP server.
+     * @throws XMPPException if an error occurs while trying to establish the connection.
+     *      Two possible errors can occur which will be wrapped by an XMPPException --
+     *      UnknownHostException (XMPP error code 504), and IOException (XMPP error code
+     *      502). The error codes and wrapped exceptions can be used to present more
+     *      appropiate error messages to end-users.
+     */
+    public XMPPConnection(String host, int port, SocketFactory socketFactory) throws XMPPException {
+        this.host = host;
+        this.port = port;
+        try {
+            this.socket = socketFactory.createSocket(host, port);
+        }
+        catch (UnknownHostException uhe) {
+            throw new XMPPException(
+                "Could not connect to " + host + ":" + port + ".",
+                new XMPPError(504),
+                uhe);
+        }
+        catch (IOException ioe) {
+            throw new XMPPException(
+                "XMPPError connecting to " + host + ":" + port + ".",
+                new XMPPError(502),
+                ioe);
+        }
+        init();
+    }
+
     /**
      * Returns the connection ID for this connection, which is the value set by the server
      * when opening a XMPP stream. If the server does not set a connection ID, this value
@@ -673,7 +703,7 @@ public class XMPPConnection {
      *
      * @throws XMPPException if establishing a connection to the server fails.
      */
-    void init() throws XMPPException {
+    private void init() throws XMPPException {
         try {
             reader = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(socket.getInputStream(), "UTF-8"));
             writer = new BufferedWriter(new OutputStreamWriter(socket.getOutputStream(), "UTF-8"));