diff --git a/httpclient/src/main/java/org/apache/http/conn/ssl/SSLInitializationException.java b/httpclient/src/main/java/org/apache/http/conn/ssl/SSLInitializationException.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..defd7e1cd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/httpclient/src/main/java/org/apache/http/conn/ssl/SSLInitializationException.java
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+/*
+ * ====================================================================
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ * ====================================================================
+ *
+ * This software consists of voluntary contributions made by many
+ * individuals on behalf of the Apache Software Foundation.  For more
+ * information on the Apache Software Foundation, please see
+ * <http://www.apache.org/>.
+ *
+ */
+package org.apache.http.conn.ssl;
+
+public class SSLInitializationException extends IllegalStateException {
+
+    private static final long serialVersionUID = -8243587425648536702L;
+
+    public SSLInitializationException(final String message, final Throwable cause) {
+        super(message, cause);
+    }    
+    
+}
diff --git a/httpclient/src/main/java/org/apache/http/conn/ssl/SSLSocketFactory.java b/httpclient/src/main/java/org/apache/http/conn/ssl/SSLSocketFactory.java
index d736c8fd2..f2592a4cc 100644
--- a/httpclient/src/main/java/org/apache/http/conn/ssl/SSLSocketFactory.java
+++ b/httpclient/src/main/java/org/apache/http/conn/ssl/SSLSocketFactory.java
@@ -296,12 +296,9 @@ public class SSLSocketFactory implements SchemeLayeredSocketFactory,
                 tmfactory = TrustManagerFactory.getInstance(TrustManagerFactory.getDefaultAlgorithm());
                 KeyStore trustStore = KeyStore.getInstance(KeyStore.getDefaultType());
                 String trustStorePassword = System.getProperty("javax.net.ssl.trustStorePassword");
-                if (trustStorePassword == null) {
-                    trustStorePassword = "changeit";
-                }
                 FileInputStream instream = new FileInputStream(trustStoreFile);
                 try {
-                    trustStore.load(instream, trustStorePassword.toCharArray());
+                    trustStore.load(instream, trustStorePassword != null ? trustStorePassword.toCharArray() : null);
                 } finally {
                     instream.close();
                 }
@@ -360,7 +357,7 @@ public class SSLSocketFactory implements SchemeLayeredSocketFactory,
         try {
             return createSSLContext(TLS, null, null, null, null, null);
         } catch (Exception ex) {
-            throw new IllegalStateException("Failure initializing default SSL context", ex);
+            throw new SSLInitializationException("Failure initializing default SSL context", ex);
         }
     }
 
@@ -368,7 +365,7 @@ public class SSLSocketFactory implements SchemeLayeredSocketFactory,
         try {
             return createSystemSSLContext(TLS, null);
         } catch (Exception ex) {
-            throw new IllegalStateException("Failure initializing default system SSL context", ex);
+            throw new SSLInitializationException("Failure initializing default system SSL context", ex);
         }
     }