diff --git a/Tests/AsyncHTTPClientTests/HTTPClient+SOCKSTests.swift b/Tests/AsyncHTTPClientTests/HTTPClient+SOCKSTests.swift
index 3479d86b9..2c65a7f3b 100644
--- a/Tests/AsyncHTTPClientTests/HTTPClient+SOCKSTests.swift
+++ b/Tests/AsyncHTTPClientTests/HTTPClient+SOCKSTests.swift
@@ -131,7 +131,10 @@ class HTTPClientSOCKSTests: XCTestCase {
             XCTAssertNoThrow(try socksBin.shutdown())
         }
 
-        // the server will send a bogus message in response to the clients request
-        XCTAssertThrowsError(try localClient.get(url: "http://localhost/socks/test").wait())
+        // the server will send a bogus message in response to the clients greeting
+        // this will be first picked up as an invalid protocol
+        XCTAssertThrowsError(try localClient.get(url: "http://localhost/socks/test").wait()) { e in
+            XCTAssertTrue(e is SOCKSError.InvalidProtocolVersion)
+        }
     }
 }
diff --git a/Tests/AsyncHTTPClientTests/SOCKSTestUtils.swift b/Tests/AsyncHTTPClientTests/SOCKSTestUtils.swift
index 38fa706df..d9b254698 100644
--- a/Tests/AsyncHTTPClientTests/SOCKSTestUtils.swift
+++ b/Tests/AsyncHTTPClientTests/SOCKSTestUtils.swift
@@ -22,21 +22,40 @@ struct MockSOCKSError: Error, Hashable {
     var description: String
 }
 
+class TestSOCKSBadServerHandler: ChannelInboundHandler {
+    typealias InboundIn = ByteBuffer
+
+    func channelRead(context: ChannelHandlerContext, data: NIOAny) {
+        // just write some nonsense bytes
+        let buffer = context.channel.allocator.buffer(bytes: [0xAA, 0xBB, 0xCC, 0xDD, 0xEE])
+        context.writeAndFlush(.init(buffer), promise: nil)
+    }
+}
+
 class MockSOCKSServer {
     let channel: Channel
 
     init(expectedURL: String, expectedResponse: String, misbehave: Bool = false, file: String = #file, line: UInt = #line) throws {
         let elg = MultiThreadedEventLoopGroup(numberOfThreads: 1)
-        let bootstrap = ServerBootstrap(group: elg)
-            .serverChannelOption(ChannelOptions.socket(SocketOptionLevel(SOL_SOCKET), SO_REUSEADDR), value: 1)
-            .childChannelInitializer { channel in
-                let handshakeHandler = SOCKSServerHandshakeHandler()
-                return channel.pipeline.addHandlers([
-                    handshakeHandler,
-                    SOCKSTestHandler(handshakeHandler: handshakeHandler, misbehave: misbehave),
-                    TestHTTPServer(expectedURL: expectedURL, expectedResponse: expectedResponse, file: file, line: line),
-                ])
-            }
+        let bootstrap: ServerBootstrap
+        if misbehave {
+            bootstrap = ServerBootstrap(group: elg)
+                .serverChannelOption(ChannelOptions.socket(SocketOptionLevel(SOL_SOCKET), SO_REUSEADDR), value: 1)
+                .childChannelInitializer { channel in
+                    channel.pipeline.addHandler(TestSOCKSBadServerHandler())
+                }
+        } else {
+            bootstrap = ServerBootstrap(group: elg)
+                .serverChannelOption(ChannelOptions.socket(SocketOptionLevel(SOL_SOCKET), SO_REUSEADDR), value: 1)
+                .childChannelInitializer { channel in
+                    let handshakeHandler = SOCKSServerHandshakeHandler()
+                    return channel.pipeline.addHandlers([
+                        handshakeHandler,
+                        SOCKSTestHandler(handshakeHandler: handshakeHandler),
+                        TestHTTPServer(expectedURL: expectedURL, expectedResponse: expectedResponse, file: file, line: line),
+                    ])
+                }
+        }
         self.channel = try bootstrap.bind(host: "localhost", port: 1080).wait()
     }
 
@@ -49,11 +68,9 @@ class SOCKSTestHandler: ChannelInboundHandler, RemovableChannelHandler {
     typealias InboundIn = ClientMessage
 
     let handshakeHandler: SOCKSServerHandshakeHandler
-    let misbehave: Bool
 
-    init(handshakeHandler: SOCKSServerHandshakeHandler, misbehave: Bool) {
+    init(handshakeHandler: SOCKSServerHandshakeHandler) {
         self.handshakeHandler = handshakeHandler
-        self.misbehave = misbehave
     }
 
     func channelRead(context: ChannelHandlerContext, data: NIOAny) {
@@ -69,12 +86,6 @@ class SOCKSTestHandler: ChannelInboundHandler, RemovableChannelHandler {
         case .authenticationData:
             context.fireErrorCaught(MockSOCKSError(description: "Received authentication data but didn't receive any."))
         case .request(let request):
-            guard !self.misbehave else {
-                context.writeAndFlush(
-                    .init(ServerMessage.authenticationData(context.channel.allocator.buffer(string: "bad server!"), complete: true)), promise: nil
-                )
-                return
-            }
             context.writeAndFlush(.init(
                 ServerMessage.response(.init(reply: .succeeded, boundAddress: request.addressType))), promise: nil)
             context.channel.pipeline.addHandlers([