diff --git a/extensions/guacamole-auth-jdbc/modules/guacamole-auth-jdbc-mysql/src/main/java/org/apache/guacamole/auth/mysql/conf/MySQLEnvironment.java b/extensions/guacamole-auth-jdbc/modules/guacamole-auth-jdbc-mysql/src/main/java/org/apache/guacamole/auth/mysql/conf/MySQLEnvironment.java
index 0159c2452..a27c2aa81 100644
--- a/extensions/guacamole-auth-jdbc/modules/guacamole-auth-jdbc-mysql/src/main/java/org/apache/guacamole/auth/mysql/conf/MySQLEnvironment.java
+++ b/extensions/guacamole-auth-jdbc/modules/guacamole-auth-jdbc-mysql/src/main/java/org/apache/guacamole/auth/mysql/conf/MySQLEnvironment.java
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ public class MySQLEnvironment extends JDBCEnvironment {
     /**
      * The default SSL mode for connecting to MySQL servers.
      */
-    private final MySQLSSLMode DEFAULT_SSL_MODE = MySQLSSLMode.DISABLED;
+    private final MySQLSSLMode DEFAULT_SSL_MODE = MySQLSSLMode.PREFERRED;
 
     /**
      * Constructs a new MySQLEnvironment, providing access to MySQL-specific
@@ -309,7 +309,7 @@ public class MySQLEnvironment extends JDBCEnvironment {
     
     /**
      * Return the MySQL SSL mode as configured in guacamole.properties, or the
-     * default value of DISABLED if not configured.
+     * default value of PREFERRED if not configured.
      * 
      * @return
      *     The SSL mode to use when connecting to the MySQL server.
diff --git a/extensions/guacamole-auth-jdbc/modules/guacamole-auth-jdbc-mysql/src/main/java/org/apache/guacamole/auth/mysql/conf/MySQLGuacamoleProperties.java b/extensions/guacamole-auth-jdbc/modules/guacamole-auth-jdbc-mysql/src/main/java/org/apache/guacamole/auth/mysql/conf/MySQLGuacamoleProperties.java
index d222a0cbb..8318b8951 100644
--- a/extensions/guacamole-auth-jdbc/modules/guacamole-auth-jdbc-mysql/src/main/java/org/apache/guacamole/auth/mysql/conf/MySQLGuacamoleProperties.java
+++ b/extensions/guacamole-auth-jdbc/modules/guacamole-auth-jdbc-mysql/src/main/java/org/apache/guacamole/auth/mysql/conf/MySQLGuacamoleProperties.java
@@ -180,8 +180,8 @@ public class MySQLGuacamoleProperties {
     };
     
     /**
-     * The SSL mode used to connect to the MySQL Server.  By default SSL will
-     * not be used.
+     * The SSL mode used to connect to the MySQL Server.  By default the driver
+     * will attempt SSL connections and fall back to plain-text if SSL fails.
      */
     public static final EnumGuacamoleProperty<MySQLSSLMode> MYSQL_SSL_MODE =
             new EnumGuacamoleProperty<MySQLSSLMode>(MySQLSSLMode.class) {
diff --git a/extensions/guacamole-auth-jdbc/modules/guacamole-auth-jdbc-postgresql/src/main/java/org/apache/guacamole/auth/postgresql/conf/PostgreSQLEnvironment.java b/extensions/guacamole-auth-jdbc/modules/guacamole-auth-jdbc-postgresql/src/main/java/org/apache/guacamole/auth/postgresql/conf/PostgreSQLEnvironment.java
index 0ac1272e3..e81e6949e 100644
--- a/extensions/guacamole-auth-jdbc/modules/guacamole-auth-jdbc-postgresql/src/main/java/org/apache/guacamole/auth/postgresql/conf/PostgreSQLEnvironment.java
+++ b/extensions/guacamole-auth-jdbc/modules/guacamole-auth-jdbc-postgresql/src/main/java/org/apache/guacamole/auth/postgresql/conf/PostgreSQLEnvironment.java
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ public class PostgreSQLEnvironment extends JDBCEnvironment {
     /**
      * The default value to use for SSL mode if none is explicitly configured.
      */
-    private final PostgreSQLSSLMode DEFAULT_SSL_MODE = PostgreSQLSSLMode.DISABLE;
+    private final PostgreSQLSSLMode DEFAULT_SSL_MODE = PostgreSQLSSLMode.PREFER;
 
     /**
      * Constructs a new PostgreSQLEnvironment, providing access to PostgreSQL-specific
@@ -257,7 +257,8 @@ public class PostgreSQLEnvironment extends JDBCEnvironment {
     
     /**
      * Get the SSL mode to use to make the JDBC connection to the PostgreSQL
-     * server.  If unspecified this will default to disabling SSL.
+     * server.  If unspecified this will default to PREFER, attempting SSL
+     * and falling back to plain-text if SSL fails.
      * 
      * @return
      *     The enum value of the SSL mode to use to make the JDBC connection
diff --git a/extensions/guacamole-auth-jdbc/modules/guacamole-auth-jdbc-postgresql/src/main/java/org/apache/guacamole/auth/postgresql/conf/PostgreSQLGuacamoleProperties.java b/extensions/guacamole-auth-jdbc/modules/guacamole-auth-jdbc-postgresql/src/main/java/org/apache/guacamole/auth/postgresql/conf/PostgreSQLGuacamoleProperties.java
index fe3ce720b..d2ae2532c 100644
--- a/extensions/guacamole-auth-jdbc/modules/guacamole-auth-jdbc-postgresql/src/main/java/org/apache/guacamole/auth/postgresql/conf/PostgreSQLGuacamoleProperties.java
+++ b/extensions/guacamole-auth-jdbc/modules/guacamole-auth-jdbc-postgresql/src/main/java/org/apache/guacamole/auth/postgresql/conf/PostgreSQLGuacamoleProperties.java
@@ -175,7 +175,8 @@ public class PostgreSQLGuacamoleProperties {
     
     /**
      * The SSL mode that should be used by the JDBC driver when making
-     * connections to the remote server.  By default SSL will be disabled.
+     * connections to the remote server.  By default SSL will be attempted but
+     * plain-text will be allowed if SSL fails.
      */
     public static final EnumGuacamoleProperty<PostgreSQLSSLMode> POSTGRESQL_SSL_MODE =
             new EnumGuacamoleProperty<PostgreSQLSSLMode>(PostgreSQLSSLMode.class) {