diff --git a/test/app-test-definitions.js b/test/app-test-definitions.js
index 0503053..89874cb 100644
--- a/test/app-test-definitions.js
+++ b/test/app-test-definitions.js
@@ -288,14 +288,14 @@ const tests = [
         .should.be.equal('http://httpbin.org/get?myArray[]=val1&myArray[]=val2&myArray[]=val3&myString=testString');
     }
   },{
-    description: 'should reject non-string values in local header object #54',
-    expected: 'rejected: {"status": 0, "error": "advanced-http: header values must be strings" ...',
+    description: 'should throw on non-string values in local header object #54',
+    expected: 'throwed: {"message": "advanced-http: header values must be strings"}',
     func: function(resolve, reject) {
       cordova.plugin.http.get('http://httpbin.org/get', {}, { myTestHeader: 1 }, resolve, reject);
     },
     validationFunc: function(driver, result) {
-      result.type.should.be.equal('rejected');
-      result.data.error.should.be.equal('advanced-http: header values must be strings');
+      result.type.should.be.equal('throwed');
+      result.message.should.be.equal('advanced-http: header values must be strings');
     }
   },{
     description: 'should throw an error while setting non-string value as global header #54',
diff --git a/test/js-mocha-specs.js b/test/js-mocha-specs.js
index e0a215c..9ec8fd6 100644
--- a/test/js-mocha-specs.js
+++ b/test/js-mocha-specs.js
@@ -27,7 +27,6 @@ describe('Advanced HTTP www interface', function() {
     mock('cordova/exec', noop);
     mock(`${PLUGIN_ID}.cookie-handler`, {});
     mock(`${HELPERS_ID}.cookie-handler`, {});
-    mock(`${PLUGIN_ID}.messages`, require('../www/messages'));
     mock(`${HELPERS_ID}.messages`, require('../www/messages'));
     mock(`${PLUGIN_ID}.angular-integration`, { registerService: noop });
 
diff --git a/www/advanced-http.js b/www/advanced-http.js
index 9d340f2..ed36d21 100644
--- a/www/advanced-http.js
+++ b/www/advanced-http.js
@@ -1,30 +1,5 @@
-/*global angular*/
-
 /*
- *
- * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
- * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
- * distributed with this work for additional information
- * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
- * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
- * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
- * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
- *
- *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- *
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
- * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
- * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
- * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
- * specific language governing permissions and limitations
- * under the License.
- *
- * Modified by Andrew Stephan for Sync OnSet
- * Modified by Sefa Ilkimen
-*/
-
-/*
- * An HTTP Plugin for PhoneGap.
+ * A native HTTP Plugin for Cordova / PhoneGap.
  */
 
 var pluginId = module.id.slice(0, module.id.lastIndexOf('.'));
@@ -33,222 +8,124 @@ var exec = require('cordova/exec');
 var angularIntegration = require(pluginId +'.angular-integration');
 var cookieHandler = require(pluginId + '.cookie-handler');
 var helpers = require(pluginId + '.helpers');
-var messages = require(pluginId + '.messages');
 
-var internals = {
+var globalConfigs = {
   headers: {},
-  dataSerializer: 'urlencoded',
-  timeoutInSeconds: 60.0,
+  serializer: 'urlencoded',
+  timeout: 60.0,
 };
 
 var publicInterface = {
-    getBasicAuthHeader: function (username, password) {
-        return {'Authorization': 'Basic ' + helpers.b64EncodeUnicode(username + ':' + password)};
-    },
-    useBasicAuth: function (username, password) {
-        this.setHeader('*', 'Authorization', 'Basic ' + helpers.b64EncodeUnicode(username + ':' + password));
-    },
-    getHeaders: function (host) {
-        return internals.headers[host || '*'] || null;
-    },
-    setHeader: function () {
-        // this one is for being backward compatible
-        var host = '*';
-        var header = arguments[0];
-        var value = arguments[1];
+  getBasicAuthHeader: function (username, password) {
+    return {'Authorization': 'Basic ' + helpers.b64EncodeUnicode(username + ':' + password)};
+  },
+  useBasicAuth: function (username, password) {
+    this.setHeader('*', 'Authorization', 'Basic ' + helpers.b64EncodeUnicode(username + ':' + password));
+  },
+  getHeaders: function (host) {
+    return globalConfigs.headers[host || '*'] || null;
+  },
+  setHeader: function () {
+    // this one is for being backward compatible
+    var host = '*';
+    var header = arguments[0];
+    var value = arguments[1];
 
-        if (arguments.length === 3) {
-            host = arguments[0];
-            header = arguments[1];
-            value = arguments[2];
-        }
-
-        if (header.toLowerCase() === 'cookie') {
-          throw new Error(messages.ADDING_COOKIES_NOT_SUPPORTED);
-        }
-
-        if (helpers.getTypeOf(value) !== 'String') {
-          throw new Error(messages.HEADER_VALUE_MUST_BE_STRING);
-        }
-
-        internals.headers[host] = internals.headers[host] || {};
-        internals.headers[host][header] = value;
-    },
-    getDataSerializer: function () {
-        return internals.dataSerializer;
-    },
-    setDataSerializer: function (serializer) {
-        internals.dataSerializer = helpers.checkSerializer(serializer);
-    },
-    setCookie: function (url, cookie, options) {
-        cookieHandler.setCookie(url, cookie, options);
-    },
-    clearCookies: function () {
-        cookieHandler.clearCookies();
-    },
-    removeCookies: function (url, callback) {
-        cookieHandler.removeCookies(url, callback);
-    },
-    getCookieString: function (url) {
-        return cookieHandler.getCookieString(url);
-    },
-    getRequestTimeout: function () {
-        return internals.timeoutInSeconds;
-    },
-    setRequestTimeout: function (timeout) {
-        internals.timeoutInSeconds = timeout;
-    },
-    enableSSLPinning: function (enable, success, failure) {
-        return exec(success, failure, 'CordovaHttpPlugin', 'enableSSLPinning', [enable]);
-    },
-    acceptAllCerts: function (allow, success, failure) {
-        return exec(success, failure, 'CordovaHttpPlugin', 'acceptAllCerts', [allow]);
-    },
-    disableRedirect: function (disable, success, failure) {
-        return exec(success, failure, 'CordovaHttpPlugin', 'disableRedirect', [disable]);
-    },
-    validateDomainName: function (validate, success, failure) {
-        failure(messages.DEPRECATED_VDN);
-    },
-    sendRequest: function (url, options, success, failure) {
-        helpers.handleMissingCallbacks(success, failure);
-
-        options = helpers.handleMissingOptions(options, internals);
-
-        var headers = helpers.getMergedHeaders(url, options.headers, internals.headers);
-        var onSuccess = helpers.injectCookieHandler(url, success);
-        var onFail = helpers.injectCookieHandler(url, failure);
-        var payload;
-
-        if ([ 'get', 'delete', 'head' ].indexOf(method) < 0) {
-          payload = helpers.getProcessedData(options.data, options.serializer);
-        } else {
-          payload = params;
-        }
-
-        return exec(onSuccess, onFail, 'CordovaHttpPlugin', options.method, [ url, payload, options.serializer, headers, options.timeout ]);
-    },
-    post: function (url, data, headers, success, failure) {
-        helpers.handleMissingCallbacks(success, failure);
-
-        data = helpers.getProcessedData(data, internals.dataSerializer);
-        headers = helpers.getMergedHeaders(url, headers, internals.headers);
-
-        if (!helpers.checkHeaders(headers)) {
-          return helpers.onInvalidHeader(failure);
-        }
-
-        var onSuccess = helpers.injectCookieHandler(url, success);
-        var onFail = helpers.injectCookieHandler(url, failure);
-
-        return exec(onSuccess, onFail, 'CordovaHttpPlugin', 'post', [url, data, internals.dataSerializer, headers, internals.timeoutInSeconds]);
-    },
-    get: function (url, params, headers, success, failure) {
-        helpers.handleMissingCallbacks(success, failure);
-
-        params = params || {};
-        headers = helpers.getMergedHeaders(url, headers, internals.headers);
-
-        if (!helpers.checkHeaders(headers)) {
-          return helpers.onInvalidHeader(failure);
-        }
-
-        var onSuccess = helpers.injectCookieHandler(url, success);
-        var onFail = helpers.injectCookieHandler(url, failure);
-
-        return exec(onSuccess, onFail, 'CordovaHttpPlugin', 'get', [url, params, headers, internals.timeoutInSeconds]);
-    },
-    put: function (url, data, headers, success, failure) {
-        helpers.handleMissingCallbacks(success, failure);
-
-        data = helpers.getProcessedData(data, internals.dataSerializer);
-        headers = helpers.getMergedHeaders(url, headers, internals.headers);
-
-        if (!helpers.checkHeaders(headers)) {
-          return helpers.onInvalidHeader(failure);
-        }
-
-        var onSuccess = helpers.injectCookieHandler(url, success);
-        var onFail = helpers.injectCookieHandler(url, failure);
-
-        return exec(onSuccess, onFail, 'CordovaHttpPlugin', 'put', [url, data, internals.dataSerializer, headers, internals.timeoutInSeconds]);
-    },
-    patch: function (url, data, headers, success, failure) {
-        helpers.handleMissingCallbacks(success, failure);
-
-        data = helpers.getProcessedData(data, internals.dataSerializer);
-        headers = helpers.getMergedHeaders(url, headers, internals.headers);
-
-        if (!helpers.checkHeaders(headers)) {
-          return helpers.onInvalidHeader(failure);
-        }
-
-        var onSuccess = helpers.injectCookieHandler(url, success);
-        var onFail = helpers.injectCookieHandler(url, failure);
-
-        return exec(onSuccess, onFail, 'CordovaHttpPlugin', 'patch', [url, data, internals.dataSerializer, headers, internals.timeoutInSeconds]);
-    },
-    delete: function (url, params, headers, success, failure) {
-        helpers.handleMissingCallbacks(success, failure);
-
-        params = params || {};
-        headers = helpers.getMergedHeaders(url, headers, internals.headers);
-
-        if (!helpers.checkHeaders(headers)) {
-          return helpers.onInvalidHeader(failure);
-        }
-
-        var onSuccess = helpers.injectCookieHandler(url, success);
-        var onFail = helpers.injectCookieHandler(url, failure);
-
-        return exec(onSuccess, onFail, 'CordovaHttpPlugin', 'delete', [url, params, headers, internals.timeoutInSeconds]);
-    },
-    head: function (url, params, headers, success, failure) {
-        helpers.handleMissingCallbacks(success, failure);
-
-        params = params || {};
-        headers = helpers.getMergedHeaders(url, headers, internals.headers);
-
-        if (!helpers.checkHeaders(headers)) {
-          return helpers.onInvalidHeader(failure);
-        }
-
-        var onSuccess = helpers.injectCookieHandler(url, success);
-        var onFail = helpers.injectCookieHandler(url, failure);
-
-        return exec(onSuccess, onFail, 'CordovaHttpPlugin', 'head', [url, params, headers, internals.timeoutInSeconds]);
-    },
-    uploadFile: function (url, params, headers, filePath, name, success, failure) {
-        helpers.handleMissingCallbacks(success, failure);
-
-        params = params || {};
-        headers = helpers.getMergedHeaders(url, headers, internals.headers);
-
-        if (!helpers.checkHeaders(headers)) {
-          return helpers.onInvalidHeader(failure);
-        }
-
-        var onSuccess = helpers.injectCookieHandler(url, success);
-        var onFail = helpers.injectCookieHandler(url, failure);
-
-        return exec(onSuccess, onFail, 'CordovaHttpPlugin', 'uploadFile', [url, params, headers, filePath, name, internals.timeoutInSeconds]);
-    },
-    downloadFile: function (url, params, headers, filePath, success, failure) {
-        helpers.handleMissingCallbacks(success, failure);
-
-        params = params || {};
-        headers = helpers.getMergedHeaders(url, headers, internals.headers);
-
-        if (!helpers.checkHeaders(headers)) {
-          return helpers.onInvalidHeader(failure);
-        }
-
-        var onSuccess = helpers.injectCookieHandler(url, helpers.injectFileEntryHandler(success));
-        var onFail = helpers.injectCookieHandler(url, failure);
-
-        return exec(onSuccess, onFail, 'CordovaHttpPlugin', 'downloadFile', [url, params, headers, filePath, internals.timeoutInSeconds]);
+    if (arguments.length === 3) {
+        host = arguments[0];
+        header = arguments[1];
+        value = arguments[2];
     }
+
+    helpers.checkForBlacklistedHeaderKey(header);
+    helpers.checkForInvalidHeaderValue(value);
+
+    globalConfigs.headers[host] = globalConfigs.headers[host] || {};
+    globalConfigs.headers[host][header] = value;
+  },
+  getDataSerializer: function () {
+    return globalConfigs.serializer;
+  },
+  setDataSerializer: function (serializer) {
+    globalConfigs.serializer = helpers.checkSerializer(serializer);
+  },
+  setCookie: function (url, cookie, options) {
+    cookieHandler.setCookie(url, cookie, options);
+  },
+  clearCookies: function () {
+    cookieHandler.clearCookies();
+  },
+  removeCookies: function (url, callback) {
+    cookieHandler.removeCookies(url, callback);
+  },
+  getCookieString: function (url) {
+    return cookieHandler.getCookieString(url);
+  },
+  getRequestTimeout: function () {
+    return globalConfigs.timeout;
+  },
+  setRequestTimeout: function (timeout) {
+    globalConfigs.timeout = timeout;
+  },
+  enableSSLPinning: function (enable, success, failure) {
+    return exec(success, failure, 'CordovaHttpPlugin', 'enableSSLPinning', [enable]);
+  },
+  acceptAllCerts: function (allow, success, failure) {
+    return exec(success, failure, 'CordovaHttpPlugin', 'acceptAllCerts', [allow]);
+  },
+  disableRedirect: function (disable, success, failure) {
+    return exec(success, failure, 'CordovaHttpPlugin', 'disableRedirect', [disable]);
+  },
+  sendRequest: function (url, options, success, failure) {
+    helpers.handleMissingCallbacks(success, failure);
+
+    options = helpers.handleMissingOptions(options, globalConfigs);
+
+    var headers = helpers.getMergedHeaders(url, options.headers, globalConfigs.headers);
+    var onSuccess = helpers.injectCookieHandler(url, success);
+    var onFail = helpers.injectCookieHandler(url, failure);
+
+    switch(options.method) {
+      case 'post':
+      case 'put':
+      case 'patch':
+        var data = helpers.getProcessedData(options.data, options.serializer);
+        return exec(onSuccess, onFail, 'CordovaHttpPlugin', options.method, [ url, data, options.serializer, headers, options.timeout ]);
+      case 'upload':
+        return exec(onSuccess, onFail, 'CordovaHttpPlugin', 'uploadFile', [ url, options.params, headers, options.filePath, options.name, options.timeout ]);
+      case 'download':
+        var onDownloadSuccess = helpers.injectCookieHandler(url, helpers.injectFileEntryHandler(success));
+        return exec(onDownloadSuccess, onFail, 'CordovaHttpPlugin', 'downloadFile', [ url, options.params, headers, options.filePath, options.timeout ]);
+      default:
+        return exec(onSuccess, onFail, 'CordovaHttpPlugin', options.method, [ url, options.params, headers, options.timeout ]);
+    }
+  },
+  post: function (url, data, headers, success, failure) {
+    return publicInterface.sendRequest(url, { method: 'post', data: data, headers: headers }, success, failure);
+  },
+  get: function (url, params, headers, success, failure) {
+    return publicInterface.sendRequest(url, { method: 'get', params: params, headers: headers }, success, failure);
+  },
+  put: function (url, data, headers, success, failure) {
+    return publicInterface.sendRequest(url, { method: 'put', data: data, headers: headers }, success, failure);
+  },
+  patch: function (url, data, headers, success, failure) {
+    return publicInterface.sendRequest(url, { method: 'patch', data: data, headers: headers }, success, failure);
+  },
+  delete: function (url, params, headers, success, failure) {
+    return publicInterface.sendRequest(url, { method: 'delete', params: params, headers: headers }, success, failure);
+  },
+  head: function (url, params, headers, success, failure) {
+    return publicInterface.sendRequest(url, { method: 'head', params: params, headers: headers }, success, failure);
+  },
+  uploadFile: function (url, params, headers, filePath, name, success, failure) {
+    return publicInterface.sendRequest(url, { method: 'upload', params: params, headers: headers, filePath: filePath, name: name }, success, failure);
+  },
+  downloadFile: function (url, params, headers, filePath, success, failure) {
+    return publicInterface.sendRequest(url, { method: 'download', params: params, headers: headers, filePath: filePath }, success, failure);
+  }
 };
 
+// angular service is deprecated and will be removed anytime soon
 angularIntegration.registerService(publicInterface);
 module.exports = publicInterface;
diff --git a/www/helpers.js b/www/helpers.js
index b8688c3..979d7e0 100644
--- a/www/helpers.js
+++ b/www/helpers.js
@@ -3,19 +3,20 @@ var cookieHandler = require(pluginId + '.cookie-handler');
 var messages = require(pluginId + '.messages');
 
 var validSerializers = [ 'urlencoded', 'json', 'utf8' ];
-var validHttpMethods = [ 'get', 'put', 'post', 'patch', 'head', 'delete'];
+var validHttpMethods = [ 'get', 'put', 'post', 'patch', 'head', 'delete', 'upload', 'download' ];
 
 module.exports = {
   b64EncodeUnicode: b64EncodeUnicode,
   getTypeOf: getTypeOf,
-  checkHeaders: checkHeaders,
-  onInvalidHeader: onInvalidHeader,
   checkSerializer: checkSerializer,
+  checkForBlacklistedHeaderKey: checkForBlacklistedHeaderKey,
+  checkForInvalidHeaderValue: checkForInvalidHeaderValue,
   injectCookieHandler: injectCookieHandler,
   injectFileEntryHandler: injectFileEntryHandler,
   getMergedHeaders: getMergedHeaders,
   getProcessedData: getProcessedData,
-  handleMissingCallbacks: handleMissingCallbacks
+  handleMissingCallbacks: handleMissingCallbacks,
+  handleMissingOptions: handleMissingOptions
 };
 
 // Thanks Mozilla: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/WindowBase64/Base64_encoding_and_decoding#The_.22Unicode_Problem.22
@@ -40,29 +41,6 @@ function mergeHeaders(globalHeaders, localHeaders) {
   return localHeaders;
 }
 
-function checkHeaders(headers) {
-  var keys = Object.keys(headers);
-  var key;
-
-  for (var i = 0; i < keys.length; i++) {
-    key = keys[i];
-
-    if (getTypeOf(headers[key]) !== 'String') {
-      return false;
-    }
-  }
-
-  return true;
-}
-
-function onInvalidHeader(handler) {
-  handler({
-    status: 0,
-    error: messages.HEADER_VALUE_MUST_BE_STRING,
-    headers: {}
-  });
-}
-
 function checkForValidStringValue(list, value, onInvalidValueMessage) {
   if (getTypeOf(value) !== 'String') {
     throw new Error(onInvalidValueMessage + ' ' + list.join(', '));
@@ -70,14 +48,14 @@ function checkForValidStringValue(list, value, onInvalidValueMessage) {
 
   value = value.trim().toLowerCase();
 
-  if (list.indexOf(value) > -1) {
-    return value;
+  if (list.indexOf(value) === -1) {
+    throw new Error(onInvalidValueMessage + ' ' + list.join(', '));
   }
 
-  throw new Error(onInvalidValueMessage + ' ' + list.join(', '));
+  return value;
 }
 
-function checkKeyValuePairObject(obj, onInvalidValueMessage) {
+function checkKeyValuePairObject(obj, allowedChildren, onInvalidValueMessage) {
   if (getTypeOf(obj) !== 'Object') {
     throw new Error(onInvalidValueMessage);
   }
@@ -85,9 +63,7 @@ function checkKeyValuePairObject(obj, onInvalidValueMessage) {
   var keys = Object.keys(obj);
 
   for (var i = 0; i < keys.length; i++) {
-    var key = keys[i];
-
-    if (getTypeOf(obj[key]) !== 'String') {
+    if (allowedChildren.indexOf(getTypeOf(obj[keys[i]])) === -1) {
       throw new Error(onInvalidValueMessage);
     }
   }
@@ -103,6 +79,22 @@ function checkSerializer(serializer) {
   return checkForValidStringValue(validSerializers, serializer, messages.INVALID_DATA_SERIALIZER);
 }
 
+function checkForBlacklistedHeaderKey(key) {
+  if (key.toLowerCase() === 'cookie') {
+    throw new Error(messages.ADDING_COOKIES_NOT_SUPPORTED);
+  }
+
+  return key;
+}
+
+function checkForInvalidHeaderValue(value) {
+  if (getTypeOf(value) !== 'String') {
+    throw new Error(messages.INVALID_HEADERS_VALUE);
+  }
+
+  return value;
+}
+
 function checkTimeoutValue(timeout) {
   if (getTypeOf(timeout) !== 'Number' || timeout < 0) {
     throw new Error(messages.INVALID_TIMEOUT_VALUE);
@@ -112,11 +104,11 @@ function checkTimeoutValue(timeout) {
 }
 
 function checkHeadersObject(headers) {
-  checkKeyValuePairObject(headers, messages.INVALID_HEADERS_VALUE);
+  return checkKeyValuePairObject(headers, [ 'String' ], messages.INVALID_HEADERS_VALUE);
 }
 
 function checkParamsObject(params) {
-  checkKeyValuePairObject(params, messages.INVALID_PARAMS_VALUE);
+  return checkKeyValuePairObject(params, [ 'String', 'Array' ], messages.INVALID_PARAMS_VALUE);
 }
 
 function resolveCookieString(headers) {
@@ -245,11 +237,13 @@ function handleMissingOptions(options, globals) {
   options = options || {};
 
   return {
-    method: checkHttpMethod(options.method || validHttpMethods[0]);
-    serializer: checkSerializer(options.serializer || globals.dataSerializer);
-    timeout: checkTimeoutValue(options.timeout || globals.timeoutInSeconds);
-    headers: checkHeadersObject(options.headers || {});
-    params: checkParamsObject(options.params || {});
-    data: options.data || null;
+    method: checkHttpMethod(options.method || validHttpMethods[0]),
+    serializer: checkSerializer(options.serializer || globals.serializer),
+    timeout: checkTimeoutValue(options.timeout || globals.timeout),
+    headers: checkHeadersObject(options.headers || {}),
+    params: checkParamsObject(options.params || {}),
+    data: options.data || null,
+    filePath: options.filePath || '',
+    name: options.name || ''
   };
 }
diff --git a/www/messages.js b/www/messages.js
index 0697320..e30afe1 100644
--- a/www/messages.js
+++ b/www/messages.js
@@ -1,13 +1,11 @@
 module.exports = {
   ADDING_COOKIES_NOT_SUPPORTED: 'advanced-http: "setHeader" does not support adding cookies, please use "setCookie" function instead',
   DATA_TYPE_MISMATCH: 'advanced-http: "data" argument supports only following data types:',
-  DEPRECATED_VDN: 'advanced-http: "validateDomainName" is no more supported, please see change log for further info',
-  HEADER_VALUE_MUST_BE_STRING: 'advanced-http: header values must be strings',
   MANDATORY_SUCCESS: 'advanced-http: missing mandatory "onSuccess" callback function',
   MANDATORY_FAIL: 'advanced-http: missing mandatory "onFail" callback function',
   INVALID_HTTP_METHOD: 'advanced-http: invalid HTTP method, supported methods are:',
   INVALID_DATA_SERIALIZER: 'advanced-http: invalid serializer, supported serializers are:',
-  INVALID_TIMEOUT_VALUE: 'advanced-http: invalid timeout value, needs to be a positive float value',
-  INVALID_HEADERS_VALUE: 'advanced-http: invalid headers object, needs to be an object with strings',
+  INVALID_HEADERS_VALUE: 'advanced-http: header values must be strings',
+  INVALID_TIMEOUT_VALUE: 'advanced-http: invalid timeout value, needs to be a positive numeric value',
   INVALID_PARAMS_VALUE: 'advanced-http: invalid params object, needs to be an object with strings'
 };