diff --git a/src/libs/utils/networkaccessmanager.cpp b/src/libs/utils/networkaccessmanager.cpp
index 889db9c644a..8915275fe3e 100644
--- a/src/libs/utils/networkaccessmanager.cpp
+++ b/src/libs/utils/networkaccessmanager.cpp
@@ -43,10 +43,30 @@
    \brief Network Access Manager for use with Qt Creator.
 
    Common initialization, Qt Creator User Agent
+
+   Preferably, the instance returned by NetworkAccessManager::instance() should be used for the main
+   thread. The constructor is provided only for multithreaded use.
  */
 
 namespace Utils {
 
+static NetworkAccessManager *namInstance = 0;
+
+void cleanupNetworkAccessManager()
+{
+    delete namInstance;
+    namInstance = 0;
+}
+
+NetworkAccessManager *NetworkAccessManager::instance()
+{
+    if (!namInstance) {
+        namInstance = new NetworkAccessManager;
+        qAddPostRoutine(cleanupNetworkAccessManager);
+    }
+    return namInstance;
+}
+
 static const QString getOsString()
 {
     QString osString;
diff --git a/src/libs/utils/networkaccessmanager.h b/src/libs/utils/networkaccessmanager.h
index 3c77540db84..acee6eaf31d 100644
--- a/src/libs/utils/networkaccessmanager.h
+++ b/src/libs/utils/networkaccessmanager.h
@@ -44,6 +44,8 @@ class QTCREATOR_UTILS_EXPORT NetworkAccessManager : public QNetworkAccessManager
 public:
     NetworkAccessManager(QObject *parent = 0);
 
+    static NetworkAccessManager *instance();
+
 public slots:
     void getUrl(const QUrl &url);
 
diff --git a/src/plugins/cpaster/codepasterprotocol.cpp b/src/plugins/cpaster/codepasterprotocol.cpp
index 07447151bb3..232f977a69d 100644
--- a/src/plugins/cpaster/codepasterprotocol.cpp
+++ b/src/plugins/cpaster/codepasterprotocol.cpp
@@ -43,8 +43,7 @@ enum { debug = 0 };
 
 namespace CodePaster {
 
-CodePasterProtocol::CodePasterProtocol(const NetworkAccessManagerProxyPtr &nw) :
-    NetworkProtocol(nw),
+CodePasterProtocol::CodePasterProtocol() :
     m_page(new CodePaster::CodePasterSettingsPage),
     m_pasteReply(0),
     m_fetchReply(0),
diff --git a/src/plugins/cpaster/codepasterprotocol.h b/src/plugins/cpaster/codepasterprotocol.h
index 097f55e66c1..699d38c626e 100644
--- a/src/plugins/cpaster/codepasterprotocol.h
+++ b/src/plugins/cpaster/codepasterprotocol.h
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ class CodePasterProtocol : public NetworkProtocol
 {
     Q_OBJECT
 public:
-    explicit CodePasterProtocol(const NetworkAccessManagerProxyPtr &nw);
+    explicit CodePasterProtocol();
     ~CodePasterProtocol();
 
     QString name() const;
diff --git a/src/plugins/cpaster/cpasterplugin.cpp b/src/plugins/cpaster/cpasterplugin.cpp
index 5ed8bafae69..a64076ff478 100644
--- a/src/plugins/cpaster/cpasterplugin.cpp
+++ b/src/plugins/cpaster/cpasterplugin.cpp
@@ -130,11 +130,10 @@ bool CodepasterPlugin::initialize(const QStringList &arguments, QString *errorMe
     addAutoReleasedObject(settingsPage);
 
     // Create the protocols and append them to the Settings
-    const QSharedPointer<NetworkAccessManagerProxy> networkAccessMgrProxy(new NetworkAccessManagerProxy);
-    Protocol *protos[] =  { new PasteBinDotComProtocol(networkAccessMgrProxy),
-                            new PasteBinDotCaProtocol(networkAccessMgrProxy),
-                            new KdePasteProtocol(networkAccessMgrProxy),
-                            new CodePasterProtocol(networkAccessMgrProxy),
+    Protocol *protos[] =  { new PasteBinDotComProtocol,
+                            new PasteBinDotCaProtocol,
+                            new KdePasteProtocol,
+                            new CodePasterProtocol,
                             new FileShareProtocol
                            };
     const int count = sizeof(protos) / sizeof(Protocol *);
@@ -148,7 +147,7 @@ bool CodepasterPlugin::initialize(const QStringList &arguments, QString *errorMe
         m_protocols.append(protos[i]);
     }
 
-    m_urlOpen = new UrlOpenProtocol(networkAccessMgrProxy);
+    m_urlOpen = new UrlOpenProtocol;
     connect(m_urlOpen, SIGNAL(fetchDone(QString,QString,bool)),
             this, SLOT(finishFetch(QString,QString,bool)));
 
diff --git a/src/plugins/cpaster/frontend/main.cpp b/src/plugins/cpaster/frontend/main.cpp
index 58f927d5a64..5f8ddb0ed71 100644
--- a/src/plugins/cpaster/frontend/main.cpp
+++ b/src/plugins/cpaster/frontend/main.cpp
@@ -49,13 +49,12 @@ class PasteReceiver : public QObject
 public:
     PasteReceiver(const QString &protocol, const QString &filePath) : m_filePath(filePath)
     {
-        const QSharedPointer<NetworkAccessManagerProxy> accessMgr(new NetworkAccessManagerProxy);
         if (protocol == KdePasteProtocol::protocolName().toLower())
-            m_protocol.reset(new KdePasteProtocol(accessMgr));
+            m_protocol.reset(new KdePasteProtocol);
         else if (protocol == PasteBinDotCaProtocol::protocolName().toLower())
-            m_protocol.reset(new PasteBinDotCaProtocol(accessMgr));
+            m_protocol.reset(new PasteBinDotCaProtocol);
         else if (protocol == PasteBinDotComProtocol::protocolName().toLower())
-            m_protocol.reset(new PasteBinDotComProtocol(accessMgr));
+            m_protocol.reset(new PasteBinDotComProtocol);
         else
             qFatal("Internal error: Invalid protocol.");
     }
diff --git a/src/plugins/cpaster/kdepasteprotocol.cpp b/src/plugins/cpaster/kdepasteprotocol.cpp
index eca0e9a4448..0a717847e93 100644
--- a/src/plugins/cpaster/kdepasteprotocol.cpp
+++ b/src/plugins/cpaster/kdepasteprotocol.cpp
@@ -44,8 +44,7 @@ static const char hostUrlC[]= "http://paste.kde.org/";
 static const char showPhpScriptpC[] = "show.php";
 
 namespace CodePaster {
-KdePasteProtocol::KdePasteProtocol(const NetworkAccessManagerProxyPtr &nw) :
-    NetworkProtocol(nw),
+KdePasteProtocol::KdePasteProtocol() :
     m_fetchReply(0),
     m_pasteReply(0),
     m_listReply(0),
diff --git a/src/plugins/cpaster/kdepasteprotocol.h b/src/plugins/cpaster/kdepasteprotocol.h
index 8c4f2ac43cf..aa447f621e6 100644
--- a/src/plugins/cpaster/kdepasteprotocol.h
+++ b/src/plugins/cpaster/kdepasteprotocol.h
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ class KdePasteProtocol : public NetworkProtocol
 {
     Q_OBJECT
 public:
-    explicit KdePasteProtocol(const NetworkAccessManagerProxyPtr &nw);
+    KdePasteProtocol();
 
     static QString protocolName();
     QString name() const { return protocolName(); }
diff --git a/src/plugins/cpaster/pastebindotcaprotocol.cpp b/src/plugins/cpaster/pastebindotcaprotocol.cpp
index acce9146488..1592cd2fd74 100644
--- a/src/plugins/cpaster/pastebindotcaprotocol.cpp
+++ b/src/plugins/cpaster/pastebindotcaprotocol.cpp
@@ -39,8 +39,7 @@
 static const char urlC[] = "http://pastebin.ca/";
 
 namespace CodePaster {
-PasteBinDotCaProtocol::PasteBinDotCaProtocol(const NetworkAccessManagerProxyPtr &nw) :
-    NetworkProtocol(nw),
+PasteBinDotCaProtocol::PasteBinDotCaProtocol() :
     m_fetchReply(0),
     m_listReply(0),
     m_pasteReply(0),
diff --git a/src/plugins/cpaster/pastebindotcaprotocol.h b/src/plugins/cpaster/pastebindotcaprotocol.h
index b045240b90e..181220f5d11 100644
--- a/src/plugins/cpaster/pastebindotcaprotocol.h
+++ b/src/plugins/cpaster/pastebindotcaprotocol.h
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ class PasteBinDotCaProtocol : public NetworkProtocol
 {
     Q_OBJECT
 public:
-    explicit PasteBinDotCaProtocol(const NetworkAccessManagerProxyPtr &nw);
+    explicit PasteBinDotCaProtocol();
 
     static QString protocolName() { return QLatin1String("Pastebin.Ca"); }
     QString name() const { return protocolName(); }
diff --git a/src/plugins/cpaster/pastebindotcomprotocol.cpp b/src/plugins/cpaster/pastebindotcomprotocol.cpp
index 031c8383c2e..364ad516e27 100644
--- a/src/plugins/cpaster/pastebindotcomprotocol.cpp
+++ b/src/plugins/cpaster/pastebindotcomprotocol.cpp
@@ -49,8 +49,7 @@ static const char PASTEBIN_ARCHIVE[]="archive";
 static const char API_KEY[]="api_dev_key=516686fc461fb7f9341fd7cf2af6f829&"; // user: qtcreator_apikey
 
 namespace CodePaster {
-PasteBinDotComProtocol::PasteBinDotComProtocol(const NetworkAccessManagerProxyPtr &nw) :
-    NetworkProtocol(nw),
+PasteBinDotComProtocol::PasteBinDotComProtocol() :
     m_fetchReply(0),
     m_pasteReply(0),
     m_listReply(0),
diff --git a/src/plugins/cpaster/pastebindotcomprotocol.h b/src/plugins/cpaster/pastebindotcomprotocol.h
index 685dd8c3f6c..d0f1da616a0 100644
--- a/src/plugins/cpaster/pastebindotcomprotocol.h
+++ b/src/plugins/cpaster/pastebindotcomprotocol.h
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ class PasteBinDotComProtocol : public NetworkProtocol
 {
     Q_OBJECT
 public:
-    explicit PasteBinDotComProtocol(const NetworkAccessManagerProxyPtr &nw);
+    PasteBinDotComProtocol();
 
     static QString protocolName();
     QString name() const { return protocolName(); }
diff --git a/src/plugins/cpaster/protocol.cpp b/src/plugins/cpaster/protocol.cpp
index 48e7044b072..284d7759d7e 100644
--- a/src/plugins/cpaster/protocol.cpp
+++ b/src/plugins/cpaster/protocol.cpp
@@ -175,45 +175,23 @@ bool Protocol::showConfigurationError(const Protocol *p,
     return rc;
 }
 
+// --------- NetworkProtocol
 
-// ------------ NetworkAccessManagerProxy
-NetworkAccessManagerProxy::NetworkAccessManagerProxy()
-{
-}
-
-NetworkAccessManagerProxy::~NetworkAccessManagerProxy()
-{
-}
-
-QNetworkReply *NetworkAccessManagerProxy::httpGet(const QString &link)
+QNetworkReply *NetworkProtocol::httpGet(const QString &link)
 {
     QUrl url(link);
     QNetworkRequest r(url);
-    return networkAccessManager()->get(r);
+    return Utils::NetworkAccessManager::instance()->get(r);
 }
 
-QNetworkReply *NetworkAccessManagerProxy::httpPost(const QString &link, const QByteArray &data)
+QNetworkReply *NetworkProtocol::httpPost(const QString &link, const QByteArray &data)
 {
     QUrl url(link);
     QNetworkRequest r(url);
     // Required for Qt 4.8
     r.setHeader(QNetworkRequest::ContentTypeHeader,
                 QVariant(QByteArray("application/x-www-form-urlencoded")));
-    return networkAccessManager()->post(r, data);
-}
-
-QNetworkAccessManager *NetworkAccessManagerProxy::networkAccessManager()
-{
-    if (m_networkAccessManager.isNull())
-        m_networkAccessManager.reset(new Utils::NetworkAccessManager);
-    return m_networkAccessManager.data();
-}
-
-// --------- NetworkProtocol
-
-NetworkProtocol::NetworkProtocol(const NetworkAccessManagerProxyPtr &nw) :
-    m_networkAccessManager(nw)
-{
+    return Utils::NetworkAccessManager::instance()->post(r, data);
 }
 
 NetworkProtocol::~NetworkProtocol()
diff --git a/src/plugins/cpaster/protocol.h b/src/plugins/cpaster/protocol.h
index 6fd81568166..343dfeb5db3 100644
--- a/src/plugins/cpaster/protocol.h
+++ b/src/plugins/cpaster/protocol.h
@@ -105,26 +105,6 @@ protected:
     static QString fixNewLines(QString in);
 };
 
-/* Proxy for NetworkAccessManager that can be shared with
- * delayed initialization and conveniences
- * for HTTP-requests. */
-
-class NetworkAccessManagerProxy
-{
-    Q_DISABLE_COPY(NetworkAccessManagerProxy)
-
-public:
-    NetworkAccessManagerProxy();
-    ~NetworkAccessManagerProxy();
-
-    QNetworkReply *httpGet(const QString &url);
-    QNetworkReply *httpPost(const QString &link, const QByteArray &data);
-    QNetworkAccessManager *networkAccessManager();
-
-private:
-    QScopedPointer<QNetworkAccessManager> m_networkAccessManager;
-};
-
 /* Network-based protocol: Provides access with delayed
  * initialization to a QNetworkAccessManager and conveniences
  * for HTTP-requests. */
@@ -137,24 +117,12 @@ public:
     virtual ~NetworkProtocol();
 
 protected:
-    typedef QSharedPointer<NetworkAccessManagerProxy> NetworkAccessManagerProxyPtr;
+    QNetworkReply *httpGet(const QString &url);
 
-    explicit NetworkProtocol(const NetworkAccessManagerProxyPtr &nw);
-
-    inline QNetworkReply *httpGet(const QString &url)
-    { return m_networkAccessManager->httpGet(url); }
-
-    inline QNetworkReply *httpPost(const QString &link, const QByteArray &data)
-    { return m_networkAccessManager->httpPost(link, data); }
-
-    inline QNetworkAccessManager *networkAccessManager()
-    { return m_networkAccessManager->networkAccessManager(); }
+    QNetworkReply *httpPost(const QString &link, const QByteArray &data);
 
     // Check connectivity of host, displaying a message box.
     bool httpStatus(QString url, QString *errorMessage);
-
-private:
-    const NetworkAccessManagerProxyPtr m_networkAccessManager;
 };
 
 } //namespace CodePaster
diff --git a/src/plugins/cpaster/urlopenprotocol.cpp b/src/plugins/cpaster/urlopenprotocol.cpp
index f2e429e671f..3c1e102c408 100644
--- a/src/plugins/cpaster/urlopenprotocol.cpp
+++ b/src/plugins/cpaster/urlopenprotocol.cpp
@@ -35,8 +35,8 @@
 
 using namespace CodePaster;
 
-UrlOpenProtocol::UrlOpenProtocol(const NetworkAccessManagerProxyPtr &nw)
-    : NetworkProtocol(nw), m_fetchReply(0)
+UrlOpenProtocol::UrlOpenProtocol()
+    : m_fetchReply(0)
 {
 }
 
diff --git a/src/plugins/cpaster/urlopenprotocol.h b/src/plugins/cpaster/urlopenprotocol.h
index 3179078e1e0..76bab232531 100644
--- a/src/plugins/cpaster/urlopenprotocol.h
+++ b/src/plugins/cpaster/urlopenprotocol.h
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ class UrlOpenProtocol : public NetworkProtocol
 {
     Q_OBJECT
 public:
-    UrlOpenProtocol(const NetworkAccessManagerProxyPtr &nw);
+    UrlOpenProtocol();
 
     QString name() const;
     unsigned capabilities() const;
diff --git a/src/plugins/git/gitorious/gitorious.cpp b/src/plugins/git/gitorious/gitorious.cpp
index f76f15a4372..fd61b2d6f72 100644
--- a/src/plugins/git/gitorious/gitorious.cpp
+++ b/src/plugins/git/gitorious/gitorious.cpp
@@ -357,11 +357,6 @@ void GitoriousProjectReader::readUnknownElement(QXmlStreamReader &reader)
 
 // --- Gitorious
 
-Gitorious::Gitorious() :
-    m_networkManager(0)
-{
-}
-
 Gitorious &Gitorious::instance()
 {
     static Gitorious gitorious;
@@ -523,9 +518,7 @@ void Gitorious::slotReplyFinished()
 // dispatch. Use host name in case an entry is removed in-between
 QNetworkReply *Gitorious::createRequest(const QUrl &url, int protocol, int hostIndex, int page)
 {
-    if (!m_networkManager)
-        m_networkManager = new Utils::NetworkAccessManager(this);
-    QNetworkReply *reply = m_networkManager->get(QNetworkRequest(url));
+    QNetworkReply *reply = Utils::NetworkAccessManager::instance()->get(QNetworkRequest(url));
     connect(reply, SIGNAL(finished()), this, SLOT(slotReplyFinished()));
     reply->setProperty(protocolPropertyC, QVariant(protocol));
     reply->setProperty(hostNamePropertyC, QVariant(hostName(hostIndex)));
diff --git a/src/plugins/git/gitorious/gitorious.h b/src/plugins/git/gitorious/gitorious.h
index 560ade0ecb3..938ecb9085d 100644
--- a/src/plugins/git/gitorious/gitorious.h
+++ b/src/plugins/git/gitorious/gitorious.h
@@ -36,7 +36,6 @@
 #include <QObject>
 
 QT_BEGIN_NAMESPACE
-class QNetworkAccessManager;
 class QNetworkReply;
 class QDebug;
 class QUrl;
@@ -159,7 +158,7 @@ private slots:
     void slotReplyFinished();
 
 private:
-    Gitorious();
+    Gitorious() {}
     void listProjectsReply(int hostIndex, int page, const QByteArray &data);
     void listCategoriesReply(int index, QByteArray data);
     void emitError(const QString &e);
@@ -167,7 +166,6 @@ private:
     void startProjectsRequest(int index, int page = 1);
 
     QList<GitoriousHost> m_hosts;
-    QNetworkAccessManager *m_networkManager;
 };
 
 } // namespace Internal
diff --git a/src/plugins/texteditor/generichighlighter/definitiondownloader.cpp b/src/plugins/texteditor/generichighlighter/definitiondownloader.cpp
index 484d52f4c8b..950a489d0c8 100644
--- a/src/plugins/texteditor/generichighlighter/definitiondownloader.cpp
+++ b/src/plugins/texteditor/generichighlighter/definitiondownloader.cpp
@@ -48,12 +48,12 @@ DefinitionDownloader::DefinitionDownloader(const QUrl &url, const QString &local
 
 void DefinitionDownloader::run()
 {
-    Utils::NetworkAccessManager manager;
+    Utils::NetworkAccessManager *manager = Utils::NetworkAccessManager::instance();
 
     int currentAttempt = 0;
     const int maxAttempts = 5;
     while (currentAttempt < maxAttempts) {
-        QScopedPointer<QNetworkReply> reply(getData(&manager));
+        QScopedPointer<QNetworkReply> reply(getData(manager));
         if (reply->error() != QNetworkReply::NoError) {
             m_status = NetworkError;
             return;
diff --git a/src/plugins/texteditor/generichighlighter/manager.cpp b/src/plugins/texteditor/generichighlighter/manager.cpp
index 1aff2ed2870..3f0df612397 100644
--- a/src/plugins/texteditor/generichighlighter/manager.cpp
+++ b/src/plugins/texteditor/generichighlighter/manager.cpp
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@
 #include <coreplugin/icore.h>
 #include <coreplugin/progressmanager/progressmanager.h>
 #include <utils/QtConcurrentTools>
+#include <utils/networkaccessmanager.h>
 
 #include <QtAlgorithms>
 #include <QString>
@@ -423,7 +424,7 @@ void Manager::downloadAvailableDefinitionsMetaData()
     QUrl url(QLatin1String("http://www.kate-editor.org/syntax/update-3.9.xml"));
     QNetworkRequest request(url);
     // Currently this takes a couple of seconds on Windows 7: QTBUG-10106.
-    QNetworkReply *reply = m_networkManager.get(request);
+    QNetworkReply *reply = Utils::NetworkAccessManager::instance()->get(request);
     connect(reply, SIGNAL(finished()), this, SLOT(downloadAvailableDefinitionsListFinished()));
 }
 
diff --git a/src/plugins/texteditor/generichighlighter/manager.h b/src/plugins/texteditor/generichighlighter/manager.h
index c74d4bdfc7f..548ef118ee0 100644
--- a/src/plugins/texteditor/generichighlighter/manager.h
+++ b/src/plugins/texteditor/generichighlighter/manager.h
@@ -43,8 +43,6 @@
 #include <QSharedPointer>
 #include <QFutureWatcher>
 
-#include <utils/networkaccessmanager.h>
-
 QT_BEGIN_NAMESPACE
 class QFileInfo;
 class QStringList;
@@ -101,7 +99,6 @@ private:
     bool m_isDownloadingDefinitionsSpec;
     QList<DefinitionDownloader *> m_downloaders;
     QFutureWatcher<void> m_downloadWatcher;
-    Utils::NetworkAccessManager m_networkManager;
     QList<HighlightDefinitionMetaData> parseAvailableDefinitionsList(QIODevice *device) const;
 
     QSet<QString> m_isBuildingDefinition;