diff --git a/.travis.yml b/.travis.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f819a51
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.travis.yml
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+language: ruby
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index a357728..8c4e8b7 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ Quick rundown:
 
     Some links will be lost when ripping pages out of PDF files and merging them with another PDF.
 
-* Some encrypted PDF files (usually the ones you can't view without a password) will fail quietly instead of noisily.
+* Some encrypted PDF files (usually the ones you can't view without a password) will fail quietly instead of noisily. If you prefer to choose the noisy route, you can specify the `raise_on_encrypted` option using `CombinePDF.load(pdf_file, raise_on_encrypted: true)` which will raise a `CombinePDF::EncryptionError`.
 
 * Sometimes the CombinePDF will raise an exception even if the PDF could be parsed (i.e., when PDF optional content exists)... I find it better to err on the side of caution, although for optional content PDFs an exception is avoidable using `CombinePDF.load(pdf_file, allow_optional_content: true)`.
 
diff --git a/Rakefile b/Rakefile
index 809eb56..df70ff0 100644
--- a/Rakefile
+++ b/Rakefile
@@ -1,2 +1,9 @@
-require "bundler/gem_tasks"
+require 'bundler/gem_tasks'
+require 'rake/testtask'
+
+task default: 'test'
+
+Rake::TestTask.new do |t|
+  t.test_files = FileList['test/**/*_test.rb']
+end
 
diff --git a/combine_pdf.gemspec b/combine_pdf.gemspec
index 39870b7..5856acc 100644
--- a/combine_pdf.gemspec
+++ b/combine_pdf.gemspec
@@ -23,4 +23,5 @@ Gem::Specification.new do |spec|
   # spec.add_development_dependency "bundler", ">= 1.7"
   spec.add_development_dependency "rake", ">= 12.3.3"
   spec.add_development_dependency "minitest"
+  spec.add_development_dependency "minitest-around"
 end
diff --git a/lib/combine_pdf/parser.rb b/lib/combine_pdf/parser.rb
index e33b5f0..588d044 100644
--- a/lib/combine_pdf/parser.rb
+++ b/lib/combine_pdf/parser.rb
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ class PDFParser
     # they are mainly to used to know if the file is (was) encrypted and to get more details.
     attr_reader :info_object, :root_object, :names_object, :forms_object, :outlines_object, :metadata
 
-    attr_reader :allow_optional_content
+    attr_reader :allow_optional_content, :raise_on_encrypted
     # when creating a parser, it is important to set the data (String) we wish to parse.
     #
     # <b>the data is required and it is not possible to set the data at a later stage</b>
@@ -58,6 +58,7 @@ def initialize(string, options = {})
       @version = nil
       @scanner = nil
       @allow_optional_content = options[:allow_optional_content]
+      @raise_on_encrypted = options[:raise_on_encrypted]
     end
 
     # parse the data in the new parser (the data already set through the initialize / new method)
@@ -96,6 +97,7 @@ def parse
       end
 
       if @root_object[:Encrypt]
+        raise EncryptionError, 'the file is encrypted' if @raise_on_encrypted
         # change_references_to_actual_values @root_object
         warn 'PDF is Encrypted! Attempting to decrypt - not yet fully supported.'
         decryptor = PDFDecrypt.new @parsed, @root_object
diff --git a/lib/combine_pdf/pdf_public.rb b/lib/combine_pdf/pdf_public.rb
index a55b81b..8784d21 100644
--- a/lib/combine_pdf/pdf_public.rb
+++ b/lib/combine_pdf/pdf_public.rb
@@ -96,6 +96,7 @@ def initialize(parser = nil)
       parser ||= PDFParser.new('')
       raise TypeError, "initialization error, expecting CombinePDF::PDFParser or nil, but got #{parser.class.name}" unless parser.is_a? PDFParser
       @objects = parser.parse
+
       # remove any existing id's
       remove_old_ids
       # set data from parser
diff --git a/test/combine_pdf/load_test.rb b/test/combine_pdf/load_test.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..47ee57a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/combine_pdf/load_test.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+require 'bundler/setup'
+require 'minitest/autorun'
+require 'minitest/around/spec'
+require 'combine_pdf'
+
+describe 'CombinePDF.load' do
+  let(:options) { {} }
+
+  subject { CombinePDF.load "test/fixtures/files/#{file}", options }
+
+  describe 'raise_on_encrypted option' do
+    let(:file) { 'sample_encrypted_pdf.pdf' }
+    let(:options) { { raise_on_encrypted: raise_on_encrypted } }
+
+    describe 'when raise_on_encrypted: true' do
+      let(:raise_on_encrypted) { true }
+
+      describe 'with encrypted file' do
+        it('raises an CombinePDF::EncryptionError') do
+          error = assert_raises(CombinePDF::EncryptionError) { subject }
+          assert_match 'the file is encrypted', error.message
+        end
+      end
+
+      describe 'with unencrypted file' do
+        let(:file) { 'sample_pdf.pdf' }
+
+        it('has a PDF') { assert_instance_of CombinePDF::PDF, subject }
+      end
+    end
+
+    describe 'when raise_on_encrypted: false' do
+      let(:raise_on_encrypted) { false }
+
+      describe 'with encrypted file' do
+        it('does not raise an CombinePDF::EncryptionError') do
+          assert_instance_of CombinePDF::PDF, subject
+        end
+      end
+
+      describe 'with unencrypted file' do
+        let(:file) { 'sample_pdf.pdf' }
+
+        it('has a PDF') { assert_instance_of CombinePDF::PDF, subject }
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/test/combine_pdf/renderer_test.rb b/test/combine_pdf/renderer_test.rb
index 882d20d..53ec41a 100644
--- a/test/combine_pdf/renderer_test.rb
+++ b/test/combine_pdf/renderer_test.rb
@@ -1,6 +1,4 @@
-require 'bundler/setup'
 require 'minitest/autorun'
-require 'combine_pdf/renderer'
 
 class CombinePDFRendererTest < Minitest::Test
 
diff --git a/test/fixtures/files/sample_encrypted_pdf.pdf b/test/fixtures/files/sample_encrypted_pdf.pdf
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..71db793
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diff --git a/test/fixtures/files/sample_pdf.pdf b/test/fixtures/files/sample_pdf.pdf
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8b9f049
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