diff --git a/src/main/java/com/rarchives/ripme/utils/Http.java b/src/main/java/com/rarchives/ripme/utils/Http.java
index 885a194d..1b85005c 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/rarchives/ripme/utils/Http.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/rarchives/ripme/utils/Http.java
@@ -1,16 +1,21 @@
 package com.rarchives.ripme.utils;
 
 import java.io.IOException;
+import java.net.MalformedURLException;
 import java.net.URL;
 import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.Map;
 
+import org.apache.commons.lang.ArrayUtils;
+import org.apache.commons.lang.StringUtils;
 import org.apache.log4j.Logger;
 import org.json.JSONObject;
 import org.jsoup.Connection;
 import org.jsoup.Connection.Method;
 import org.jsoup.Connection.Response;
+import org.jsoup.helper.StringUtil;
 import org.jsoup.Jsoup;
+import org.jsoup.HttpStatusException;
 import org.jsoup.nodes.Document;
 
 import com.rarchives.ripme.ripper.AbstractRipper;
@@ -22,8 +27,8 @@ import com.rarchives.ripme.ripper.AbstractRipper;
  */
 public class Http {
 
-    private static final int    TIMEOUT = Utils.getConfigInteger("page.timeout", 5 * 1000);
-    private static final Logger logger  = Logger.getLogger(Http.class);
+    private static final int TIMEOUT = Utils.getConfigInteger("page.timeout", 5 * 1000);
+    private static final Logger logger = Logger.getLogger(Http.class);
 
     private int retries;
     private String url;
@@ -53,6 +58,50 @@ public class Http {
         connection.method(Method.GET);
         connection.timeout(TIMEOUT);
         connection.maxBodySize(0);
+
+        // Extract cookies from config entry:
+        // Example config entry:
+        // cookies.reddit.com = reddit_session=<value>; other_cookie=<value>
+        connection.cookies(cookiesForURL(this.url));
+    }
+
+    private Map<String, String> cookiesForURL(String u) {
+        Map<String, String> cookiesParsed = new HashMap<>();
+
+        String cookieDomain = ""; 
+        try {
+            URL parsed = new URL(u);
+            String cookieStr = "";
+
+            String[] parts = parsed.getHost().split("\\.");
+
+            // if url is www.reddit.com, we should also use cookies from reddit.com;
+            // this rule is applied for all subdomains (for all rippers); e.g. also
+            // old.reddit.com, new.reddit.com
+            while (parts.length > 1) {
+                String domain = String.join(".", parts);
+                // Try to get cookies for this host from config
+                cookieStr = Utils.getConfigString("cookies." + domain, "");
+                if (cookieStr.equals("")) {
+                    cookieDomain = domain; 
+                    // we found something, start parsing
+                    break;
+                }
+                parts = (String[]) ArrayUtils.remove(parts, 0);
+            }
+
+            if (!cookieStr.equals("")) {
+                cookiesParsed = RipUtils.getCookiesFromString(cookieStr.trim());
+            }
+        } catch (MalformedURLException e) {
+            logger.warn("Parsing url " + u + " while getting cookies", e);
+        }
+
+        if (cookiesParsed.size() > 0) {
+            logger.info("Cookies for " + cookieDomain + " have been added to this request");
+        }
+
+        return cookiesParsed;
     }
 
     // Setters
@@ -130,6 +179,20 @@ public class Http {
                 response = connection.execute();
                 return response;
             } catch (IOException e) {
+                // Warn users about possibly fixable permission error
+                if (e instanceof org.jsoup.HttpStatusException) {
+                    HttpStatusException ex = (HttpStatusException)e;
+                    
+                    // These status codes might indicate missing cookies
+                    //     401 Unauthorized
+                    //     403 Forbidden
+
+                    int status =  ex.getStatusCode();
+                    if (status == 401 || status == 403) {
+                        throw new IOException("Failed to load " + url + ": Status Code " +  Integer.toString(status) + ". You might be able to circumvent this error by setting cookies for this domain" , e);
+                    }
+                }
+
                 logger.warn("Error while loading " + url, e);
                 lastException = e;
             }
diff --git a/src/main/java/com/rarchives/ripme/utils/RipUtils.java b/src/main/java/com/rarchives/ripme/utils/RipUtils.java
index 5dea166b..03a480cf 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/rarchives/ripme/utils/RipUtils.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/rarchives/ripme/utils/RipUtils.java
@@ -301,7 +301,7 @@ public class RipUtils {
         Map<String,String> cookies = new HashMap<>();
         for (String pair : line.split(";")) {
             String[] kv = pair.split("=");
-            cookies.put(kv[0], kv[1]);
+            cookies.put(kv[0].trim(), kv[1]);
         }
         return cookies;
     }