diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index f2c7699ba..ea2f84610 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ option(ENABLE_SMSTOOLS3 "Build SMSTools3 plugin" ON)
 option(ENABLE_XMPP "Build XMPP plugin" ON)
 option(ENABLE_TWITTER "Build Twitter plugin" ON)
 option(ENABLE_WEBUI "Build Web UI" ON)
-
+option(ENABLE_SLACK_FRONTEND "Build Slack frontend" OFF)
 option(ENABLE_DOCS "Build Docs" ON)
 # option(ENABLE_LOG "Build with logging using Log4cxx" ON)
 option(ENABLE_TESTS "Build Tests using CppUnit" OFF)
diff --git a/backends/libcommuni/CMakeLists.txt b/backends/libcommuni/CMakeLists.txt
index 0d3ee4ccc..e727aeabb 100644
--- a/backends/libcommuni/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/backends/libcommuni/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -13,15 +13,15 @@ add_executable(spectrum2_libcommuni_backend ${SRC})
 
 if(NOT WIN32)
 	if(ENABLE_QT4)
-		target_link_libraries(spectrum2_libcommuni_backend ${IRC_LIBRARY} Qt4::QtNetwork Qt4::QtCore transport pthread)
+		target_link_libraries(spectrum2_libcommuni_backend ${IRC_LIBRARY} Qt4::QtNetwork Qt4::QtCore transport-plugin pthread)
 	else()
-		target_link_libraries(spectrum2_libcommuni_backend ${IRC_LIBRARY} Qt5::Network Qt5::Core transport pthread)
+		target_link_libraries(spectrum2_libcommuni_backend ${IRC_LIBRARY} Qt5::Network Qt5::Core transport-plugin pthread)
 	endif()
 else()
 	if(ENABLE_QT4)
-		target_link_libraries(spectrum2_libcommuni_backend ${IRC_LIBRARY} Qt4::QtNetwork Qt4::QtCore transport)
+		target_link_libraries(spectrum2_libcommuni_backend ${IRC_LIBRARY} Qt4::QtNetwork Qt4::QtCore transport-plugin)
 	else()
-		target_link_libraries(spectrum2_libcommuni_backend ${IRC_LIBRARY} Qt5::Network Qt5::Core transport)
+		target_link_libraries(spectrum2_libcommuni_backend ${IRC_LIBRARY} Qt5::Network Qt5::Core transport-plugin)
 	endif()
 endif()
 
diff --git a/backends/swiften/CMakeLists.txt b/backends/swiften/CMakeLists.txt
index fa8db5d87..32dd12a5a 100644
--- a/backends/swiften/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/backends/swiften/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -3,9 +3,9 @@ file(GLOB SRC *.cpp)
 add_executable(spectrum2_swiften_backend ${SRC})
 
 if(NOT WIN32)
-	target_link_libraries(spectrum2_swiften_backend transport pthread ${Boost_LIBRARIES} ${SWIFTEN_LIBRARY} ${LOG4CXX_LIBRARIES})
+	target_link_libraries(spectrum2_swiften_backend transport-plugin pthread ${Boost_LIBRARIES} ${SWIFTEN_LIBRARY} ${LOG4CXX_LIBRARIES})
 else()
-	target_link_libraries(spectrum2_swiften_backend transport ${Boost_LIBRARIES} ${SWIFTEN_LIBRARY} ${LOG4CXX_LIBRARIES})
+	target_link_libraries(spectrum2_swiften_backend transport-plugin ${Boost_LIBRARIES} ${SWIFTEN_LIBRARY} ${LOG4CXX_LIBRARIES})
 endif()
 
 install(TARGETS spectrum2_swiften_backend RUNTIME DESTINATION ${CMAKE_INSTALL_LIBEXECDIR})
diff --git a/backends/swiften/main.cpp b/backends/swiften/main.cpp
index 9d6dc4b89..aeb6f0e6d 100644
--- a/backends/swiften/main.cpp
+++ b/backends/swiften/main.cpp
@@ -80,36 +80,15 @@ class SwiftenPlugin : public NetworkPlugin, Swift::XMPPParserClient {
 		Swift::XMPPParser *m_xmppParser;
 		Swift::FullPayloadParserFactoryCollection m_collection2;
 
-		SwiftenPlugin(Config *config, Swift::SimpleEventLoop *loop, const std::string &host, int port) : NetworkPlugin() {
+		SwiftenPlugin(Config *config, const std::string &host, int port) : NetworkPlugin() {
 			this->config = config;
 			m_firstPing = true;
-			m_factories = new Swift::BoostNetworkFactories(loop);
-			m_conn = m_factories->getConnectionFactory()->createConnection();
-			m_conn->onDataRead.connect(boost::bind(&SwiftenPlugin::_handleDataRead, this, _1));
-			m_conn->connect(Swift::HostAddressPort(*(Swift::HostAddress::fromString(host)), port));
 			serializer = new Swift::XMPPSerializer(&collection, Swift::ClientStreamType, false);
 			m_xmppParser = new Swift::XMPPParser(this, &m_collection2, m_factories->getXMLParserFactory());
 			m_xmppParser->parse("<stream:stream xmlns='jabber:client' xmlns:stream='http://etherx.jabber.org/streams' to='localhost' version='1.0'>");
 
 			LOG4CXX_INFO(logger, "Starting the plugin.");
-		}
-
-		// NetworkPlugin uses this method to send the data to networkplugin server
-		void sendData(const std::string &string) {
-			m_conn->write(Swift::createSafeByteArray(string));
-		}
-
-		// This method has to call handleDataRead with all received data from network plugin server
-		void _handleDataRead(std::shared_ptr<Swift::SafeByteArray> data) {
-			if (m_firstPing) {
-				m_firstPing = false;
-				NetworkPlugin::PluginConfig cfg;
-				cfg.setRawXML(true);
-				cfg.setNeedRegistration(false);
-				sendConfig(cfg);
-			}
-			std::string d(data->begin(), data->end());
-			handleDataRead(d);
+			connect(host, std::to_string(port));
 		}
 
 		void handleStreamStart(const Swift::ProtocolHeader&) {}
@@ -446,10 +425,7 @@ int main (int argc, char* argv[]) {
 
 	Logging::initBackendLogging(cfg);
 
-	Swift::SimpleEventLoop eventLoop;
-	loop_ = &eventLoop;
-	np = new SwiftenPlugin(cfg, &eventLoop, host, port);
-	loop_->run();
+	np = new SwiftenPlugin(cfg, host, port);
 
 	return 0;
 }
diff --git a/backends/template/CMakeLists.txt b/backends/template/CMakeLists.txt
index 37828416d..66490e639 100644
--- a/backends/template/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/backends/template/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -4,12 +4,12 @@ add_executable(spectrum2_template_backend ${SRC})
 
 if(CMAKE_COMPILER_IS_GNUCXX)
 	if(NOT WIN32)
-		target_link_libraries(spectrum2_template_backend transport pthread ${Boost_LIBRARIES} ${SWIFTEN_LIBRARY} ${LOG4CXX_LIBRARIES})
+		target_link_libraries(spectrum2_template_backend transport-plugin pthread ${Boost_LIBRARIES} ${SWIFTEN_LIBRARY} ${LOG4CXX_LIBRARIES})
 	else()
-		target_link_libraries(spectrum2_template_backend transport ${Boost_LIBRARIES} ${SWIFTEN_LIBRARY} ${LOG4CXX_LIBRARIES})
+		target_link_libraries(spectrum2_template_backend transport-plugin ${Boost_LIBRARIES} ${SWIFTEN_LIBRARY} ${LOG4CXX_LIBRARIES})
 	endif()
 else()
-	target_link_libraries(spectrum2_template_backend transport ${Boost_LIBRARIES} ${SWIFTEN_LIBRARY} ${LOG4CXX_LIBRARIES})
+	target_link_libraries(spectrum2_template_backend transport-plugin ${PROTOBUF_LIBRARY} ${Boost_LIBRARIES} ${SWIFTEN_LIBRARY} ${LOG4CXX_LIBRARIES})
 endif()
 
 #install(TARGETS spectrum2_template_backend RUNTIME DESTINATION bin)
diff --git a/backends/template/main.cpp b/backends/template/main.cpp
index 5f9df1a81..1a7324d86 100644
--- a/backends/template/main.cpp
+++ b/backends/template/main.cpp
@@ -5,9 +5,6 @@
 #include "transport/NetworkPlugin.h"
 #include "transport/Logging.h"
 
-// Swiften
-#include "Swiften/Swiften.h"
-
 #ifndef _WIN32
 // for signal handler
 #include "unistd.h"
@@ -17,6 +14,7 @@
 #endif
 // Boost
 #include <boost/algorithm/string.hpp>
+#include <boost/filesystem.hpp>
 using namespace boost::filesystem;
 using namespace boost::program_options;
 using namespace Transport;
@@ -60,9 +58,7 @@ int main (int argc, char* argv[]) {
 
 	Logging::initBackendLogging(cfg);
 
-	Swift::SimpleEventLoop eventLoop;
-	Plugin p(cfg, &eventLoop, host, port);
-	eventLoop.run();
+	Plugin p(cfg, host, port);
 
 	return 0;
 }
diff --git a/backends/template/plugin.cpp b/backends/template/plugin.cpp
index 57b828487..447476a22 100644
--- a/backends/template/plugin.cpp
+++ b/backends/template/plugin.cpp
@@ -4,36 +4,19 @@
 #include "transport/NetworkPlugin.h"
 #include "transport/Logging.h"
 
-// Swiften
-#include "Swiften/Swiften.h"
-
 // Boost
 #include <boost/algorithm/string.hpp>
+#include <boost/filesystem.hpp>
 using namespace boost::filesystem;
 using namespace boost::program_options;
 using namespace Transport;
 
 DEFINE_LOGGER(logger, "Backend Template");
 
-Plugin::Plugin(Config *config, Swift::SimpleEventLoop *loop, const std::string &host, int port) : NetworkPlugin() {
+Plugin::Plugin(Config *config, const std::string &host, int port) : NetworkPlugin() {
 	this->config = config;
-	m_factories = new Swift::BoostNetworkFactories(loop);
-	m_conn = m_factories->getConnectionFactory()->createConnection();
-	m_conn->onDataRead.connect(boost::bind(&Plugin::_handleDataRead, this, _1));
-	m_conn->connect(Swift::HostAddressPort(*(Swift::HostAddress::fromString(host)), port));
-
 	LOG4CXX_INFO(logger, "Starting the plugin.");
-}
-
-// NetworkPlugin uses this method to send the data to networkplugin server
-void Plugin::sendData(const std::string &string) {
-	m_conn->write(Swift::createSafeByteArray(string));
-}
-
-// This method has to call handleDataRead with all received data from network plugin server
-void Plugin::_handleDataRead(std::shared_ptr<Swift::SafeByteArray> data) {
-	std::string d(data->begin(), data->end());
-	handleDataRead(d);
+	connect(host, std::to_string(port));
 }
 
 void Plugin::handleLoginRequest(const std::string &user, const std::string &legacyName, const std::string &password, const std::map<std::string, std::string> &settings) {
diff --git a/backends/template/plugin.h b/backends/template/plugin.h
index be2d876d8..9dc56d7db 100644
--- a/backends/template/plugin.h
+++ b/backends/template/plugin.h
@@ -1,13 +1,11 @@
 #pragma once
 
-#include "Swiften/Swiften.h"
-
 #include "transport/Config.h"
 #include "transport/NetworkPlugin.h"
 
 class Plugin : public Transport::NetworkPlugin {
 	public:
-		Plugin(Transport::Config *config, Swift::SimpleEventLoop *loop, const std::string &host, int port);
+		Plugin(Transport::Config *config, const std::string &host, int port);
 
 		// NetworkPlugin uses this method to send the data to networkplugin server
 		void sendData(const std::string &string);
@@ -23,12 +21,5 @@ class Plugin : public Transport::NetworkPlugin {
 		void handleBuddyRemovedRequest(const std::string &user, const std::string &buddyName, const std::vector<std::string> &groups);
 
 	private:
-		// This method has to call handleDataRead with all received data from network plugin server
-		void _handleDataRead(std::shared_ptr<Swift::SafeByteArray> data);
-
-	private:
-		Swift::BoostNetworkFactories *m_factories;
-		Swift::BoostIOServiceThread m_boostIOServiceThread;
-		std::shared_ptr<Swift::Connection> m_conn;
 		Transport::Config *config;
 };
diff --git a/backends/twitter/CMakeLists.txt b/backends/twitter/CMakeLists.txt
index 93a3af353..4b96144fb 100644
--- a/backends/twitter/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/backends/twitter/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ find_package(CURL)
 
 if(CURL_FOUND)
 	message(STATUS "Using curl ${CURL_VERSION_STRING}: ${CURL_INCLUDE_DIRS} ${CURL_LIBRARIES}")
-	target_link_libraries(spectrum2_twitter_backend transport JsonCpp::JsonCpp ${CURL_LIBRARIES} ${Boost_LIBRARIES} ${SWIFTEN_LIBRARY} ${LOG4CXX_LIBRARIES})
+	target_link_libraries(spectrum2_twitter_backend transport-plugin ${CURL_LIBRARIES} ${Boost_LIBRARIES} ${SWIFTEN_LIBRARY} ${LOG4CXX_LIBRARIES})
 else()
 	message(FATAL_ERROR "curl not found")
 endif()
diff --git a/backends/twitter/HTTPRequest.h b/backends/twitter/HTTPRequest.h
deleted file mode 100644
index 40db66a1e..000000000
--- a/backends/twitter/HTTPRequest.h
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,37 +0,0 @@
-#ifndef HTTPREQ_H
-#define HTTPREQ_H
-
-#include "curl/curl.h"
-#include "transport/Logging.h"
-#include <iostream>
-#include <sstream>
-#include <string.h>
-
-class HTTPRequest
-{
-	CURL *curlhandle;
-	char curl_errorbuffer[1024];
-	std::string error;
-	std::string callbackdata;
-
-    static int curlCallBack(char* data, size_t size, size_t nmemb, HTTPRequest *obj);
-
-	public:
-	HTTPRequest() {
-		curlhandle = NULL;
-	}
-
-	~HTTPRequest() {
-		if(curlhandle) {
-			curl_easy_cleanup(curlhandle);
-			curlhandle = NULL;
-		}
-	}
-
-	bool init();
-	void setProxy(std::string, std::string, std::string, std::string);
-	bool GET(std::string, std::string &);
-	std::string getCurlError() {return std::string(curl_errorbuffer);}
-};
-
-#endif
diff --git a/backends/twitter/Requests/ProfileImageRequest.cpp b/backends/twitter/Requests/ProfileImageRequest.cpp
index 9a42a4527..722810484 100644
--- a/backends/twitter/Requests/ProfileImageRequest.cpp
+++ b/backends/twitter/Requests/ProfileImageRequest.cpp
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 #include "ProfileImageRequest.h"
-#include "../HTTPRequest.h"
+#include "transport/HTTPRequest.h"
 DEFINE_LOGGER(profileImageRequestLogger, "ProfileImageRequest")
 void ProfileImageRequest::run()
 {
diff --git a/backends/twitter/TwitterPlugin.cpp b/backends/twitter/TwitterPlugin.cpp
index 59d901872..5ab9eb870 100644
--- a/backends/twitter/TwitterPlugin.cpp
+++ b/backends/twitter/TwitterPlugin.cpp
@@ -10,12 +10,14 @@
 #include "Requests/DestroyFriendRequest.h"
 #include "Requests/RetweetRequest.h"
 #include "Requests/ProfileImageRequest.h"
-#include "Swiften/StringCodecs/Hexify.h"
+
+#include <boost/uuid/detail/sha1.hpp>
+
+#include <memory>
 
 DEFINE_LOGGER(logger, "Twitter Backend");
 
 TwitterPlugin *np = NULL;
-Swift::SimpleEventLoop *loop_; // Event Loop
 
 const std::string OLD_APP_KEY = "PCWAdQpyyR12ezp2fVwEhw";
 const std::string OLD_APP_SECRET = "EveLmCXJIg2R7BTCpm6OWV8YyX49nI0pxnYXh7JMvDg";
@@ -34,8 +36,26 @@ static int cmp(std::string a, std::string b)
 	return 1;
 }
 
+std::string get_sha1(const std::string& p_arg)
+{
+    boost::uuids::detail::sha1 sha1;
+    sha1.process_bytes(p_arg.data(), p_arg.size());
+    unsigned hash[5] = {0};
+    sha1.get_digest(hash);
+
+    // Back to string
+    char buf[41] = {0};
+
+    for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++)
+    {
+        std::sprintf(buf + (i << 3), "%08x", hash[i]);
+    }
+
+    return std::string(buf);
+}
+
 
-TwitterPlugin::TwitterPlugin(Config *config, Swift::SimpleEventLoop *loop, StorageBackend *storagebackend, const std::string &host, int port) : NetworkPlugin()
+TwitterPlugin::TwitterPlugin(Config *config, StorageBackend *storagebackend, const std::string &host, int port) : NetworkPlugin()
 {
 	this->config = config;
 	this->storagebackend = storagebackend;
@@ -68,26 +88,17 @@ TwitterPlugin::TwitterPlugin(Config *config, Swift::SimpleEventLoop *loop, Stora
 	OAUTH_SECRET = "twitter_oauth_secret";
 	MODE = "mode";
 
-	m_factories = new Swift::BoostNetworkFactories(loop);
-	m_conn = m_factories->getConnectionFactory()->createConnection();
-	m_conn->onDataRead.connect(boost::bind(&TwitterPlugin::_handleDataRead, this, _1));
-	m_conn->connect(Swift::HostAddressPort(*(Swift::HostAddress::fromString(host)), port));
-
-	tp = new ThreadPool(loop_, 10);
-
 	LOG4CXX_INFO(logger, "Fetch timeout is set to " << CONFIG_INT_DEFAULTED(config, "twitter.fetch_timeout", 90000));
-	tweet_timer = m_factories->getTimerFactory()->createTimer(CONFIG_INT_DEFAULTED(config, "twitter.fetch_timeout", 90000));
-	message_timer = m_factories->getTimerFactory()->createTimer(CONFIG_INT_DEFAULTED(config, "twitter.fetch_timeout", 90000));
-
-	tweet_timer->onTick.connect(boost::bind(&TwitterPlugin::pollForTweets, this));
-	//message_timer->onTick.connect(boost::bind(&TwitterPlugin::pollForDirectMessages, this));
+	io = std::make_shared<boost::asio::io_service>();
+	tweet_timer = std::make_shared<boost::asio::deadline_timer>(io, boost::posix_time::seconds(CONFIG_INT_DEFAULTED(config, "twitter.fetch_timeout", 90000)));
+	message_timer = std::make_shared<boost::asio::deadline_timer>(io, boost::posix_time::seconds(CONFIG_INT_DEFAULTED(config, "twitter.fetch_timeout", 90000)));
 
-	tweet_timer->start();
-	message_timer->start();
-    cryptoProvider = std::shared_ptr<Swift::CryptoProvider>(Swift::PlatformCryptoProvider::create());
+	tweet_timer->async_wait(boost::bind(&TwitterPlugin::pollForTweets, this));
+	//message_timer->async_wait(boost::bind(&TwitterPlugin::pollForDirectMessages, this));
 
 
 	LOG4CXX_INFO(logger, "Starting the plugin.");
+	connect(host, std::to_string(port));
 }
 
 TwitterPlugin::~TwitterPlugin()
@@ -95,29 +106,6 @@ TwitterPlugin::~TwitterPlugin()
 	delete storagebackend;
 	std::set<std::string>::iterator it;
 	for (it = onlineUsers.begin() ; it != onlineUsers.end() ; it++) delete userdb[*it].sessions;
-	delete tp;
-}
-
-// Send data to NetworkPlugin server
-void TwitterPlugin::sendData(const std::string &string)
-{
-	m_conn->write(Swift::createSafeByteArray(string));
-}
-
-// Receive date from the NetworkPlugin server and invoke the appropirate payload handler (implement in the NetworkPlugin class)
-void TwitterPlugin::_handleDataRead(std::shared_ptr<Swift::SafeByteArray> data)
-{
-	if (m_firstPing) {
-		m_firstPing = false;
-		// Users can join the network without registering if we allow
-		// one user to connect multiple IRC networks.
-		NetworkPlugin::PluginConfig cfg;
-		cfg.setNeedPassword(false);
-		sendConfig(cfg);
-	}
-
-	std::string d(data->begin(), data->end());
-	handleDataRead(d);
 }
 
 // User trying to login into his twitter account
@@ -655,9 +643,13 @@ void TwitterPlugin::populateRoster(std::string &user, std::vector<User> &friends
 
 			if(userdb[user].twitterMode == MULTIPLECONTACT) {
 				std::string lastTweet = friends[i].getLastStatus().getTweet();
-				//LOG4CXX_INFO(logger, user << " - " << SHA(friendAvatars[i]))
+
+				auto friendAvatarHash = get_sha1(friendAvatars[i]);
+
+				LOG4CXX_INFO(logger, user << " - " << friendAvatarHash);
+
 				handleBuddyChanged(user, friends[i].getScreenName(), friends[i].getUserName(), std::vector<std::string>(),
-					pbnetwork::STATUS_ONLINE, lastTweet, Swift::Hexify::hexify(cryptoProvider->getSHA1Hash(Swift::createByteArray(friendAvatars[i]))));
+					pbnetwork::STATUS_ONLINE, lastTweet, friendAvatarHash);
 			}
 			else if(userdb[user].twitterMode == CHATROOM)
 				handleParticipantChanged(user, friends[i].getScreenName(), adminChatRoom, 0, pbnetwork::STATUS_ONLINE);
@@ -831,7 +823,7 @@ void TwitterPlugin::createFriendResponse(std::string &user, User &frnd, std::str
 
 	LOG4CXX_INFO(logger, user << " - " << frnd.getScreenName() << ", " << frnd.getProfileImgURL());
 	if(userdb[user].twitterMode == MULTIPLECONTACT) {
-		handleBuddyChanged(user, frnd.getScreenName(), frnd.getUserName(), std::vector<std::string>(), pbnetwork::STATUS_ONLINE, "", Swift::byteArrayToString(cryptoProvider->getSHA1Hash(Swift::createByteArray(img))));
+		handleBuddyChanged(user, frnd.getScreenName(), frnd.getUserName(), std::vector<std::string>(), pbnetwork::STATUS_ONLINE, "", get_sha1(img));
 	} else if(userdb[user].twitterMode == CHATROOM) {
 		handleParticipantChanged(user, frnd.getScreenName(), adminChatRoom, 0, pbnetwork::STATUS_ONLINE);
 	}
diff --git a/backends/twitter/TwitterPlugin.h b/backends/twitter/TwitterPlugin.h
index 967df7fc3..09978cc13 100644
--- a/backends/twitter/TwitterPlugin.h
+++ b/backends/twitter/TwitterPlugin.h
@@ -9,7 +9,6 @@
 #include "transport/StorageBackend.h"
 #include "transport/ThreadPool.h"
 
-#include <Swiften/Swiften.h>
 #ifndef _WIN32
 #include "unistd.h"
 #include "signal.h"
@@ -17,9 +16,11 @@
 #include "sys/signal.h"
 #endif
 #include <boost/algorithm/string.hpp>
+#include <boost/filesystem.hpp>
 #include <boost/thread.hpp>
 #include <boost/thread/mutex.hpp>
 
+#include "SHA1.h"
 #include "twitcurl.h"
 #include "TwitterResponseParser.h"
 
@@ -30,8 +31,7 @@
 #include <queue>
 #include <set>
 #include <cstdio>
-#include <Swiften/Crypto/CryptoProvider.h>
-#include <Swiften/Crypto/PlatformCryptoProvider.h>
+
 using namespace boost::filesystem;
 using namespace boost::program_options;
 using namespace Transport;
@@ -40,27 +40,20 @@ using namespace Transport;
 
 class TwitterPlugin;
 extern TwitterPlugin *np;
-extern Swift::SimpleEventLoop *loop_; // Event Loop
 
 
 class TwitterPlugin : public NetworkPlugin {
 	public:
-		Swift::BoostNetworkFactories *m_factories;
-		Swift::BoostIOServiceThread m_boostIOServiceThread;
-		std::shared_ptr<Swift::Connection> m_conn;
-		std::shared_ptr<Swift::CryptoProvider> cryptoProvider;
-		Swift::Timer::ref tweet_timer;
-		Swift::Timer::ref message_timer;
+		std::shared_ptr<boost::asio::deadline_timer> tweet_timer;
+		std::shared_ptr<boost::asio::deadline_timer> message_timer;
+		std::shared_ptr<boost::asio::io_service> io;
 		StorageBackend *storagebackend;
 
-		TwitterPlugin(Config *config, Swift::SimpleEventLoop *loop, StorageBackend *storagebackend, const std::string &host, int port);
+		TwitterPlugin(Config *config, StorageBackend *storagebackend, const std::string &host, int port);
 		~TwitterPlugin();
 
 		// Send data to NetworkPlugin server
 		void sendData(const std::string &string);
-
-		// Receive date from the NetworkPlugin server and invoke the appropirate payload handler (implement in the NetworkPlugin class)
-		void _handleDataRead(std::shared_ptr<Swift::SafeByteArray> data);
 	
 		// User trying to login into his twitter account
 		void handleLoginRequest(const std::string &user, const std::string &legacyName, const std::string &password, const std::map<std::string, std::string> &settings);
@@ -153,7 +146,6 @@ class TwitterPlugin : public NetworkPlugin {
 
 		boost::mutex dblock, userlock;
 
-		ThreadPool *tp;
 		std::set<std::string> onlineUsers;
 		struct UserData
 		{
diff --git a/backends/twitter/main.cpp b/backends/twitter/main.cpp
index 5d4d61dad..27f285b3e 100644
--- a/backends/twitter/main.cpp
+++ b/backends/twitter/main.cpp
@@ -52,11 +52,7 @@ int main (int argc, char* argv[]) {
 		LOG4CXX_ERROR(logger, "Can't connect to database!");
 		return -1;
 	}
-
-	Swift::SimpleEventLoop eventLoop;
-	loop_ = &eventLoop;
-	np = new TwitterPlugin(cfg, &eventLoop, storagebackend, host, port);
-	loop_->run();
+	np = new TwitterPlugin(cfg, storagebackend, host, port);
 
 	return 0;
 }
diff --git a/include/transport/HTTPRequest.h b/include/transport/HTTPRequest.h
index ea3fd6473..40db66a1e 100644
--- a/include/transport/HTTPRequest.h
+++ b/include/transport/HTTPRequest.h
@@ -1,73 +1,37 @@
+#ifndef HTTPREQ_H
+#define HTTPREQ_H
 
-#pragma once
-
-#include <boost/signals2.hpp>
-#include <curl/curl.h>
+#include "curl/curl.h"
 #include "transport/Logging.h"
-#include "transport/ThreadPool.h"
 #include <iostream>
 #include <sstream>
 #include <string.h>
-#include <json/json.h>
-
-namespace Transport {
-
-class HTTPRequest : public Thread {
-	public:
-		typedef enum { Get } Type;
-		typedef boost::function< void (HTTPRequest *, bool, Json::Value &json, const std::string &data) > Callback;
-
-		HTTPRequest(ThreadPool *tp, Type type, const std::string &url, Callback callback);
-		HTTPRequest(Type type, const std::string &url);
-
-		virtual ~HTTPRequest();
-
-		void setProxy(std::string, std::string, std::string, std::string);
-		bool execute();
-		bool execute(Json::Value &json);
-		std::string getError() {return std::string(curl_errorbuffer);}
-		const std::string &getRawData() {
-			return m_data;
-		}
-
-		void run();
-		void finalize();
 
-		const std::string &getURL() {
-			return m_url;
-		}
-
-		boost::signals2::signal<void ()> onRequestFinished;
+class HTTPRequest
+{
+	CURL *curlhandle;
+	char curl_errorbuffer[1024];
+	std::string error;
+	std::string callbackdata;
 
-		static void globalInit() {
-			curl_global_init(CURL_GLOBAL_ALL);
-		}
+    static int curlCallBack(char* data, size_t size, size_t nmemb, HTTPRequest *obj);
 
-		static void globalCleanup() {
-			curl_global_cleanup();
+	public:
+	HTTPRequest() {
+		curlhandle = NULL;
+	}
+
+	~HTTPRequest() {
+		if(curlhandle) {
+			curl_easy_cleanup(curlhandle);
+			curlhandle = NULL;
 		}
+	}
 
-	private:
-		bool init();
-		bool GET(std::string url, std::string &output);
-		bool GET(std::string url, Json::Value &json);
-
-
-		CURL *curlhandle;
-		char curl_errorbuffer[1024];
-		std::string error;
-		std::string callbackdata;
-		ThreadPool *m_tp;
-		std::string m_url;
-		bool m_ok;
-		Json::Value m_json;
-		std::string m_data;
-		Callback m_callback;
-		Type m_type;
-
-		static int curlCallBack(char* data, size_t size, size_t nmemb, HTTPRequest *obj);
-
+	bool init();
+	void setProxy(std::string, std::string, std::string, std::string);
+	bool GET(std::string, std::string &);
+	std::string getCurlError() {return std::string(curl_errorbuffer);}
 };
 
-}
-
+#endif
diff --git a/include/transport/HTTPRequestQueue.h b/include/transport/HTTPRequestQueue.h
deleted file mode 100644
index 32475cfa1..000000000
--- a/include/transport/HTTPRequestQueue.h
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,40 +0,0 @@
-
-#pragma once
-
-#include "curl/curl.h"
-#include "transport/Logging.h"
-#include "transport/ThreadPool.h"
-#include <iostream>
-#include <sstream>
-#include <string.h>
-
-#include "Swiften/Network/Timer.h"
-
-namespace Transport {
-
-class HTTPRequest;
-class Component;
-
-class HTTPRequestQueue {
-	public:
-		HTTPRequestQueue(Component *component, const std::string &user, int delayBetweenRequests = 1);
-
-		virtual ~HTTPRequestQueue();
-
-		void queueRequest(HTTPRequest *req);
-
-		void sendNextRequest();
-
-	private:
-		void handleRequestFinished();
-
-	private:
-		int m_delay;
-		std::queue<HTTPRequest *> m_queue;
-		HTTPRequest *m_req;
-		Swift::Timer::ref m_queueTimer;
-		std::string m_user;
-};
-
-}
-
diff --git a/include/transport/NetworkPlugin.h b/include/transport/NetworkPlugin.h
index eecf9497d..a696bb5bd 100644
--- a/include/transport/NetworkPlugin.h
+++ b/include/transport/NetworkPlugin.h
@@ -27,6 +27,8 @@
 #include <iostream>
 #include <list>
 
+#include <boost/asio.hpp>
+
 namespace Transport {
 
 /// Represents Spectrum2 legacy network plugin.
@@ -50,7 +52,6 @@ class NetworkPlugin {
 				void setExtraFields(const std::vector<std::string> &fields) { m_extraFields = fields; }
 				void setRawXML(bool rawXML = false) { m_rawXML = rawXML; }
 				void disableJIDEscaping() { m_disableJIDEscaping = true; }
-
 			private:
 				bool m_needPassword;
 				bool m_needRegistration;
@@ -62,15 +63,17 @@ class NetworkPlugin {
 				friend class NetworkPlugin;
 		};
 
-		/// Creates new NetworkPlugin and connects the Spectrum2 NetworkPluginServer.
-		/// \param loop Event loop.
-		/// \param host Host where Spectrum2 NetworkPluginServer runs.
-		/// \param port Port.
+		/// Creates new NetworkPlugin 
 		NetworkPlugin();
 
 		/// Destructor.
 		virtual ~NetworkPlugin();
 
+		/// Connects the Spectrum2 NetworkPluginServer.
+		/// \param host Host where Spectrum2 NetworkPluginServer runs.
+		/// \param port Port ("http" or "8080")
+		void connect(const std::string &host, const std::string &port);
+
 		void sendConfig(const PluginConfig &cfg);
 
 		void sendRawXML(std::string &xml);
@@ -266,8 +269,8 @@ class NetworkPlugin {
 		virtual void handleMemoryUsage(double &res, double &shared) {res = 0; shared = 0;}
 
 		virtual void handleExitRequest() { exit(1); }
-		void handleDataRead(std::string &data);
-		virtual void sendData(const std::string &string) {}
+		void handleDataRead(std::istream &data);
+		void sendData(const std::string& string);
 
 		void checkPing();
 
@@ -292,7 +295,7 @@ class NetworkPlugin {
 		std::string m_data;
 		bool m_pingReceived;
 		double m_init_res;
-
+		boost::asio::ip::tcp::iostream stream;
 };
 
 }
diff --git a/libtransport/HTTPRequest.cpp b/libtransport/HTTPRequest.cpp
deleted file mode 100644
index a3bcdb819..000000000
--- a/libtransport/HTTPRequest.cpp
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,159 +0,0 @@
-#include "transport/HTTPRequest.h"
-
-namespace Transport {
-
-DEFINE_LOGGER(httpRequestLogger, "HTTPRequest")
-
-HTTPRequest::HTTPRequest(ThreadPool *tp, Type type, const std::string &url, Callback callback) {
-	m_type = type;
-	m_url = url;
-	m_tp = tp;
-	m_callback = callback;
-	curlhandle = NULL;
-}
-
-HTTPRequest::HTTPRequest(Type type, const std::string &url) {
-	m_type = type;
-	m_url = url;
-	m_tp = NULL;
-	curlhandle = NULL;
-}
-
-HTTPRequest::~HTTPRequest() {
-	if (curlhandle) {
-		LOG4CXX_INFO(httpRequestLogger, "Cleaning up CURL handle");
-		curl_easy_cleanup(curlhandle);
-		curlhandle = NULL;
-	}
-}
-
-bool HTTPRequest::init() {
-	if (curlhandle) {
-		return true;
-	}
-
-	curlhandle = curl_easy_init();
-	if (curlhandle) {
-		curl_easy_setopt(curlhandle, CURLOPT_PROXY, NULL);
-		curl_easy_setopt(curlhandle, CURLOPT_PROXYUSERPWD, NULL);
-		curl_easy_setopt(curlhandle, CURLOPT_PROXYAUTH, (long)CURLAUTH_ANY);
-		return true;
-	}
-
-	LOG4CXX_ERROR(httpRequestLogger, "Couldn't Initialize curl!");
-	return false;
-}
-
-void HTTPRequest::setProxy(std::string IP, std::string port, std::string username, std::string password) {
-	if (curlhandle) {
-		std::string proxyIpPort = IP + ":" + port;
-		curl_easy_setopt(curlhandle, CURLOPT_PROXY, proxyIpPort.c_str());
-		if (username.length() && password.length()) {
-			std::string proxyUserPass = username + ":" + password;
-			curl_easy_setopt(curlhandle, CURLOPT_PROXYUSERPWD, proxyUserPass.c_str());
-		}
-	} else {
-		LOG4CXX_ERROR(httpRequestLogger, "Trying to set proxy while CURL isn't initialized");
-	}
-}
-
-int HTTPRequest::curlCallBack(char* data, size_t size, size_t nmemb, HTTPRequest* obj) {
-	int writtenSize = 0;
-	if (obj && data) {
-		obj->callbackdata.append(data, size*nmemb);
-		writtenSize = (int)(size*nmemb);
-	}
-
-	return writtenSize;
-}
-
-bool HTTPRequest::GET(std::string url, 	std::string &data) {
-	if (curlhandle) {
-		curl_easy_setopt(curlhandle, CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST, NULL);
-		curl_easy_setopt(curlhandle, CURLOPT_ENCODING, "");
-
-		data = "";
-		callbackdata = "";
-		memset(curl_errorbuffer, 0, 1024);
-
-		curl_easy_setopt(curlhandle, CURLOPT_ERRORBUFFER, curl_errorbuffer);
-		curl_easy_setopt(curlhandle, CURLOPT_WRITEFUNCTION, curlCallBack);
-		curl_easy_setopt(curlhandle, CURLOPT_WRITEDATA, this);
-
-		/* Set http request and url */
-		curl_easy_setopt(curlhandle, CURLOPT_HTTPGET, 1);
-		curl_easy_setopt(curlhandle, CURLOPT_VERBOSE, 0);
-		curl_easy_setopt(curlhandle, CURLOPT_URL, url.c_str());
-
-		/* Send http request and return status*/
-		if (CURLE_OK == curl_easy_perform(curlhandle)) {
-			data = callbackdata;
-			return true;
-		}
-	} else {
-		LOG4CXX_ERROR(httpRequestLogger, "CURL not initialized!");
-		strcpy(curl_errorbuffer, "CURL not initialized!");
-	}
-	LOG4CXX_ERROR(httpRequestLogger, "Error fetching " << url);
-	return false;
-}
-
-bool HTTPRequest::GET(std::string url, Json::Value &json) {
-	if (!GET(url, m_data)) {
-		return false;
-	}
-
-	Json::CharReaderBuilder rbuilder;
-	std::shared_ptr<Json::CharReader> const reader(rbuilder.newCharReader());
-	if (!reader->parse(m_data.c_str(), m_data.c_str() + m_data.size(), &json, NULL)) {
-		LOG4CXX_ERROR(httpRequestLogger, "Error while parsing JSON");
-	        LOG4CXX_ERROR(httpRequestLogger, m_data);
-		strcpy(curl_errorbuffer, "Error while parsing JSON");
-		return false;
-	}
-
-	return true;
-}
-
-void HTTPRequest::run() {
-	if (!init()) {
-		m_ok =  false;
-		return;
-	}
-
-	switch (m_type) {
-		case Get:
-			m_ok = GET(m_url, m_json);
-			break;
-	}
-
-	curl_easy_cleanup(curlhandle);
-	curlhandle = NULL;
-}
-
-void HTTPRequest::finalize() {
-	m_callback(this, m_ok, m_json, m_data);
-	onRequestFinished();
-}
-
-bool HTTPRequest::execute() {
-	if (!m_tp) {
-		return false;
-	}
-
-	m_tp->runAsThread(this);
-	return true;
-}
-
-bool HTTPRequest::execute(Json::Value &json) {
-	init();
-	switch (m_type) {
-		case Get:
-			m_ok = GET(m_url, json);
-			break;
-	}
-
-	return m_ok;
-}
-
-}
diff --git a/libtransport/HTTPRequestQueue.cpp b/libtransport/HTTPRequestQueue.cpp
deleted file mode 100644
index de298806a..000000000
--- a/libtransport/HTTPRequestQueue.cpp
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,64 +0,0 @@
-#include "transport/HTTPRequestQueue.h"
-#include "transport/HTTPRequest.h"
-#include "transport/Transport.h"
-
-namespace Transport {
-
-DEFINE_LOGGER(httpRequestQueueLogger, "HTTPRequestQueue")
-
-HTTPRequestQueue::HTTPRequestQueue(Component *component, const std::string &user, int delay) {
-	m_delay = delay;
-	m_req = NULL;
-	m_user = user;
-
-	m_queueTimer = component->getNetworkFactories()->getTimerFactory()->createTimer(500);
-	m_queueTimer->onTick.connect(boost::bind(&HTTPRequestQueue::sendNextRequest, this));
-}
-
-HTTPRequestQueue::~HTTPRequestQueue() {
-	m_queueTimer->stop();
-
-	if (m_req) {
-		m_req->onRequestFinished.disconnect(boost::bind(&HTTPRequestQueue::handleRequestFinished, this));
-	}
-}
-
-void HTTPRequestQueue::handleRequestFinished() {
-	m_req = NULL;
-	m_queueTimer->start();
-}
-
-void HTTPRequestQueue::sendNextRequest() {
-	if (m_queue.empty()) {
-		LOG4CXX_INFO(httpRequestQueueLogger, m_user << ": Queue is empty.");
-		m_req = NULL;
-		m_queueTimer->stop();
-		return;
-	}
-
-	if (m_req) {
-		LOG4CXX_INFO(httpRequestQueueLogger, m_user << ": There is already a request being handled.");
-		return;
-	}
-
-	m_req = m_queue.front();
-	m_queue.pop();
-
-	LOG4CXX_INFO(httpRequestQueueLogger, m_user << ": Starting request '" << m_req->getURL() << "'.");
-	m_req->onRequestFinished.connect(boost::bind(&HTTPRequestQueue::handleRequestFinished, this));
-	m_req->execute();
-}
-
-void HTTPRequestQueue::queueRequest(HTTPRequest *req) {
-	m_queue.push(req);
-
-	if (!m_req) {
-		sendNextRequest();
-	}
-	else {
-		LOG4CXX_INFO(httpRequestQueueLogger, m_user << ": Request '" << req->getURL() << "' queued.");
-	}
-}
-
-
-}
diff --git a/libtransport/OAuth2.cpp b/libtransport/OAuth2.cpp
index bf0f0a592..f6b8e0c3e 100644
--- a/libtransport/OAuth2.cpp
+++ b/libtransport/OAuth2.cpp
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@
 #include <boost/uuid/uuid.hpp>
 #include <boost/uuid/uuid_generators.hpp>
 #include <boost/uuid/uuid_io.hpp>
+#include <json/json.h>
 
 namespace Transport {
 
@@ -81,20 +82,21 @@ std::string OAuth2::requestToken(const std::string &code, std::string &token, st
 		url += "&redirect_uri=" + Util::urlencode(m_redirectURL);
 	}
 
-	Json::Value resp;
-	HTTPRequest req(HTTPRequest::Get, url);
-	if (!req.execute(resp)) {
+	std::string responseData;
+	HTTPRequest req;
+	req.init();
+	if (!req.GET(url, responseData)) {
 		LOG4CXX_ERROR(oauth2Logger, url);
-		LOG4CXX_ERROR(oauth2Logger, req.getError());
-		return req.getError();
+		LOG4CXX_ERROR(oauth2Logger, req.getCurlError());
+		return req.getCurlError();
 	}
 
-	LOG4CXX_ERROR(oauth2Logger, req.getRawData());
+	LOG4CXX_ERROR(oauth2Logger, responseData);
+	Json::Value resp(responseData);
 	Json::Value& access_token = resp["access_token"];
 	if (!access_token.isString()) {
 		LOG4CXX_ERROR(oauth2Logger, "No 'access_token' object in the reply.");
 		LOG4CXX_ERROR(oauth2Logger, url);
-		LOG4CXX_ERROR(oauth2Logger, req.getRawData());
 		return "No 'access_token' object in the reply.";
 	}
 
@@ -102,7 +104,6 @@ std::string OAuth2::requestToken(const std::string &code, std::string &token, st
 	if (token.empty()) {
 		LOG4CXX_ERROR(oauth2Logger, "Empty 'access_token' object in the reply.");
 		LOG4CXX_ERROR(oauth2Logger, url);
-		LOG4CXX_ERROR(oauth2Logger, req.getRawData());
 		return "Empty 'access_token' object in the reply.";
 	}
 
diff --git a/plugin/cpp/CMakeLists.txt b/plugin/cpp/CMakeLists.txt
index 370d02b5e..3fa8e4d33 100644
--- a/plugin/cpp/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/plugin/cpp/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -18,10 +18,14 @@ if(CMAKE_COMPILER_IS_GNUCXX)
 	endif()
 endif()
 
+target_link_libraries(transport-plugin JsonCpp::JsonCpp)
+
+find_package(CURL)
+
 if(NOT WIN32)
-	target_link_libraries(transport-plugin ${PROTOBUF_LIBRARY} ${LOG4CXX_LIBRARIES} ${Boost_LIBRARIES})
+	target_link_libraries(transport-plugin ${PROTOBUF_LIBRARY} ${LOG4CXX_LIBRARIES} ${Boost_LIBRARIES} ${PQXX_LIBRARIES} ${CURL_LIBRARIES} ${PQ_LIBRARY} ${SQLITE3_LIBRARIES} ${MYSQL_LIBRARIES})
 else()
-	target_link_libraries(transport-plugin ${PROTOBUF_LIBRARY} ${LOG4CXX_LIBRARIES} ${Boost_LIBRARIES} ws2_32.lib)
+	target_link_libraries(transport-plugin ${PROTOBUF_LIBRARY} ${LOG4CXX_LIBRARIES} ${Boost_LIBRARIES} ${PQXX_LIBRARIES} ${CURL_LIBRARIES} ${PQ_LIBRARY} ${SQLITE3_LIBRARIES} ${MYSQL_LIBRARIES} ws2_32.lib)
 endif() 
 
 set_target_properties(transport-plugin PROPERTIES
diff --git a/backends/twitter/HTTPRequest.cpp b/plugin/cpp/HTTPRequest.cpp
similarity index 98%
rename from backends/twitter/HTTPRequest.cpp
rename to plugin/cpp/HTTPRequest.cpp
index 9e9dd09ee..33efef15f 100644
--- a/backends/twitter/HTTPRequest.cpp
+++ b/plugin/cpp/HTTPRequest.cpp
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-#include "HTTPRequest.h"
+#include "transport/HTTPRequest.h"
 DEFINE_LOGGER(httpRequestLogger, "HTTPRequest")
 
 bool HTTPRequest::init()
diff --git a/libtransport/MySQLBackend.cpp b/plugin/cpp/MySQLBackend.cpp
similarity index 100%
rename from libtransport/MySQLBackend.cpp
rename to plugin/cpp/MySQLBackend.cpp
diff --git a/libtransport/PQXXBackend.cpp b/plugin/cpp/PQXXBackend.cpp
similarity index 100%
rename from libtransport/PQXXBackend.cpp
rename to plugin/cpp/PQXXBackend.cpp
diff --git a/libtransport/SQLite3Backend.cpp b/plugin/cpp/SQLite3Backend.cpp
similarity index 100%
rename from libtransport/SQLite3Backend.cpp
rename to plugin/cpp/SQLite3Backend.cpp
diff --git a/libtransport/StorageBackend.cpp b/plugin/cpp/StorageBackend.cpp
similarity index 100%
rename from libtransport/StorageBackend.cpp
rename to plugin/cpp/StorageBackend.cpp
diff --git a/plugin/cpp/networkplugin.cpp b/plugin/cpp/networkplugin.cpp
index cc1dba244..53f5ec568 100644
--- a/plugin/cpp/networkplugin.cpp
+++ b/plugin/cpp/networkplugin.cpp
@@ -24,14 +24,9 @@
 
 #include <sstream>
 
-#ifndef WIN32
-#include <arpa/inet.h>
-#include <sys/types.h>
-#include <unistd.h>
-#else 
-#include <winsock2.h>
-#include <stdint.h>
-#include <process.h>
+#include <boost/asio.hpp>
+
+#ifdef _WIN32
 #define getpid _getpid
 #endif
 
@@ -60,6 +55,12 @@ NetworkPlugin::NetworkPlugin() {
 NetworkPlugin::~NetworkPlugin() {
 }
 
+void NetworkPlugin::connect(const std::string& host, const std::string &port) {
+	stream.expires_after(boost::asio::chrono::seconds(60));
+	stream.connect(host, port);
+	handleDataRead(stream);
+}
+
 void NetworkPlugin::sendConfig(const PluginConfig &cfg) {
 	std::string data = "[registration]\n";
 	data += std::string("needPassword=") + (cfg.m_needPassword ? "1" : "0") + "\n";
@@ -496,30 +497,11 @@ void NetworkPlugin::handleChatStatePayload(const std::string &data, int type) {
 	}
 }
 
-void NetworkPlugin::handleDataRead(std::string &data) {
-	m_data.insert(m_data.end(), data.begin(), data.end());
-
-	while (m_data.size() != 0) {
-		unsigned int expected_size;
-
-		if (m_data.size() >= 4) {
-			expected_size = *((unsigned int*) &m_data[0]);
-			expected_size = ntohl(expected_size);
-			if (m_data.size() - 4 < expected_size)
-				return;
-		}
-		else {
-			return;
-		}
-
+void NetworkPlugin::handleDataRead(std::istream& data) {
+	while (true) {
 		pbnetwork::WrapperMessage wrapper;
-		if (wrapper.ParseFromArray(&m_data[4], expected_size) == false) {
-			m_data.erase(m_data.begin(), m_data.begin() + 4 + expected_size);
-			return;
-		}
-		m_data.erase(m_data.begin(), m_data.begin() + 4 + expected_size);
-
-		switch(wrapper.type()) {
+		if (wrapper.ParseFromIstream(&data)) {
+			switch (wrapper.type()) {
 			case pbnetwork::WrapperMessage_Type_TYPE_LOGIN:
 				handleLoginPayload(wrapper.payload());
 				break;
@@ -573,6 +555,10 @@ void NetworkPlugin::handleDataRead(std::string &data) {
 				break;
 			default:
 				return;
+			}
+		} else {
+			LOG4CXX_ERROR(logger, "Error reading from server");
+			break;
 		}
 	}
 }
@@ -583,6 +569,11 @@ void NetworkPlugin::send(const std::string &data) {
 	sendData(std::string(header, 4) + data);
 }
 
+void NetworkPlugin::sendData(const std::string& data) {
+	stream << data;
+	stream.flush();
+}
+
 void NetworkPlugin::checkPing() {
 	if (m_pingReceived == false) {
 		LOG4CXX_ERROR(logger, "PING request not received - exiting...");
diff --git a/spectrum/src/CMakeLists.txt b/spectrum/src/CMakeLists.txt
index 8779129c1..6075099fa 100644
--- a/spectrum/src/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/spectrum/src/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -16,7 +16,11 @@ if (ENABLE_PURPLE AND PURPLE_FOUND)
 add_dependencies(spectrum2 spectrum2_libpurple_backend)
 endif()
 
-target_link_libraries(spectrum2 transport spectrum2-xmpp-frontend spectrum2-slack-frontend ${SWIFTEN_LIBRARY} ${LOG4CXX_LIBRARIES} ${PROTOBUF_LIBRARY})
+target_link_libraries(spectrum2 transport spectrum2-xmpp-frontend ${SWIFTEN_LIBRARY} ${LOG4CXX_LIBRARIES} ${PROTOBUF_LIBRARY})
+
+if(ENABLE_SLACK_FRONTEND)
+	target_link_libraries(spectrum2 spectrum2-slack-frontend)
+endif()
 
 if(NOT MSVC AND NOT APPLE)
 	# export all symbols (used for loading frontends)
diff --git a/spectrum/src/frontends/CMakeLists.txt b/spectrum/src/frontends/CMakeLists.txt
index eb6249560..44342804f 100644
--- a/spectrum/src/frontends/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/spectrum/src/frontends/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,2 +1,4 @@
 add_subdirectory(xmpp)
+if(ENABLE_SLACK_FRONTEND)
 add_subdirectory(slack)
+endif()