diff --git a/NAMESPACE b/NAMESPACE
index 8ca7e504..c2e13097 100644
--- a/NAMESPACE
+++ b/NAMESPACE
@@ -47,6 +47,7 @@ export(accept_json)
 export(accept_xml)
 export(add_headers)
 export(authenticate)
+export(brew_dr)
 export(build_url)
 export(cache_info)
 export(config)
diff --git a/NEWS.md b/NEWS.md
index 08016981..81a74286 100644
--- a/NEWS.md
+++ b/NEWS.md
@@ -31,9 +31,9 @@
 * Fix for OAuth 2 process when using `options(httr_oob_default = TRUE)`
   (#126, @WillemPaling).
 
-* httr checks to see if your libCurl uses NSS. This is unlikely to work
-  so it gives you some advice on how to fix the problem (thanks to 
-  @eddelbuettel for debugging this problem).
+* New `brew_dr()` checks for common problems. Currently checks if your libCurl 
+  uses NSS. This is unlikely to work so it gives you some advice on how to 
+  fix the problem (thanks to @eddelbuettel for debugging this problem).
 
 * `Content-Type` set to title case to avoid errors in servers which do not
   correctly implement case insensitivity in header names. (#142, #146) thanks
diff --git a/R/doctor.R b/R/doctor.R
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..fe59c580
--- /dev/null
+++ b/R/doctor.R
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+#' Diagnose common configuration problems
+#'
+#' Currently one check: that curl uses nss.
+#'
+#' @export
+brew_dr <- function() {
+  check_for_nss()
+}
+
+check_for_nss <- function() {
+  if (!grepl("^NSS", RCurl::curlVersion()$ssl_version)) return()
+
+  warning('
+  ------------------------------------------------------------------------
+  Your installed RCurl is linked to the NSS library (`libcurl4-nss-dev`)
+  which is likely to cause issues.
+
+  To resolve the problem:
+
+  1. Quit R.
+
+  2. Install OpenSSL (`apt-get install libcurl4-openssl-dev`) or
+     GnuTLS (`apt-get install libcurl4-gnutls-dev`) variants of libCurl.
+
+  3. Restart R.
+
+  4. Reinstall RCurl: `install.packages("RCurl")`.
+  ------------------------------------------------------------------------
+  ', call. = FALSE)
+}
diff --git a/R/zzz.R b/R/zzz.R
index 2bfc9675..d36a641b 100644
--- a/R/zzz.R
+++ b/R/zzz.R
@@ -1,6 +1,4 @@
 .onLoad <- function(libname, pkgname) {
-  check_for_nss()
-
   op <- options()
   op.dplyr <- list(
     httr_oob_default = FALSE,
@@ -18,25 +16,3 @@ release_questions <- function() {
     "Is inst/cacert.pem up to date?"
   )
 }
-
-check_for_nss <- function() {
-  if (!grepl("^NSS", RCurl::curlVersion()$ssl_version)) return()
-
-  warning('
-  ------------------------------------------------------------------------
-  Your installed RCurl is linked to the NSS library (`libcurl4-nss-dev`)
-  which is likely to cause issues.
-
-  To resolve the problem:
-
-  1. Quit R.
-
-  2. Install OpenSSL (`apt-get install libcurl4-openssl-dev`) or
-     GnuTLS (`apt-get install libcurl4-gnutls-dev`) variants of libCurl.
-
-  3. Restart R.
-
-  4. Reinstall RCurl: `install.packages("RCurl")`.
-  ------------------------------------------------------------------------
-  ', call. = FALSE)
-}
diff --git a/cran-comments.md b/cran-comments.md
index 03b8f545..c83ddaaf 100644
--- a/cran-comments.md
+++ b/cran-comments.md
@@ -1,3 +1,7 @@
+Minor update: this version moves automated NSS check into explicit function to avoid false-positives.
+
+---
+
 ## Test environments
 * local OS X install, R 3.1.2
 * ubuntu 12.04 (on travis-ci), R 3.1.2