diff --git a/src/main/java/org/broad/igv/util/HttpUtils.java b/src/main/java/org/broad/igv/util/HttpUtils.java
index c97804e18..086d035ce 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/broad/igv/util/HttpUtils.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/broad/igv/util/HttpUtils.java
@@ -345,6 +345,9 @@ public String doPost(URL url, Map<String, String> params) throws IOException {
      * @throws IOException
      */
     public InputStream openConnectionStream(URL url) throws IOException {
+
+        url = new URL(mapURL(url.toExternalForm()));
+
         log.debug("Opening connection stream to  " + url);
         if (url.getProtocol().toLowerCase().equals("ftp")) {
             String userInfo = url.getUserInfo();