diff --git a/fcrepo-common/src/main/java/fedora/common/http/ProxyConfiguration.java b/fcrepo-common/src/main/java/fedora/common/http/ProxyConfiguration.java
index 85ae89bbb..715625831 100644
--- a/fcrepo-common/src/main/java/fedora/common/http/ProxyConfiguration.java
+++ b/fcrepo-common/src/main/java/fedora/common/http/ProxyConfiguration.java
@@ -155,8 +155,8 @@ && getProxyPort() > 0
      * @return true if the credentials are valid, false otherwise
      */
     public boolean hasValidCredentials() {
-        return getProxyUser() != null && getProxyUser().equals("")
-                && getProxyPassword() != null && getProxyPassword().equals("");
+        return getProxyUser() != null && !getProxyUser().equals("")
+                && getProxyPassword() != null && !getProxyPassword().equals("");
     }
 
 }