diff --git a/lib/paranoid.js b/lib/paranoid.js
index cd2ef41..def8cd1 100644
--- a/lib/paranoid.js
+++ b/lib/paranoid.js
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
     vulnerable browser plugins) and with the ability to increase
     the algorithm complexity over time.
 
-    Version 1.0.0-beta
+    Version 1.0.0-beta2
 */
 
 var URIjs = require('URIjs');
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ var DEFAULT_ITERATIONS = 2000;
  *   is being generated
  * - iterations: (optional, default 2000) number of pbkdf2 iterations
  *
+ * - normalize: (optional, default true) attempt to normalize uri
  * - doNotNormalizePrefix: (optional, default undefined) if set, any uri that
  *   starts with the doNotNormalizePrefix will not be normalized
  * - applyPasswordRules: (optional, default true) ensures at least one
@@ -48,6 +49,10 @@ function paranoid (opts) {
   var paranoidLock = opts.paranoidLock || opts.lock;
   var uri = opts.uri || opts.target;
   var iterations = opts.iterations || DEFAULT_ITERATIONS;
+  var normalize = true;
+  if ('normalize' in opts) {
+    normalize = opts.normalize;
+  }
 
   // verify required fields are present
   if (!masterPassword || !paranoidLock || !uri) {
@@ -62,7 +67,7 @@ function paranoid (opts) {
     removeWordBreaks: opts.removeWordBreaks || true,
 
     // normalize unless prefix is given and matches the uri
-    normalize: !(opts.doNotNormalizePrefix &&
+    normalize: !!normalize && !(opts.doNotNormalizePrefix &&
           uri.substr(0, opts.doNotNormalizePrefix.length) ===
             opts.doNotNoramlizePrefix)
   };