Acceptable Use Policy

The Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) outlines the regulations and guidelines for utilizing our Services. By using any service provided by HOSTNEY, you agree to adhere fully to the HOSTNEY Terms of Service (TOS) and the AUP.

When using our services, you agree that:

• You will comply with all applicable local, state, national, and international laws, including regulations, ordinances, rules, and requirements set by relevant national or local authorities/regulators.
• You will not transmit any unsolicited commercial or bulk emails, engage in spamming, or participate in Mail Bombing activities.
• All outgoing email messages containing advertising will include an automated opt-out mechanism.
• You will refrain from making inappropriate communications in Newsgroups, Mailing Lists, Chat Facilities, or other Internet Forums.
• You will not attempt to make unauthorized access to HOSTNEY and/or third-party website(s), server(s), hosting accounts, or services.
• You will not execute or allow remote code execution of malicious software.
• You will not conduct denial of service attacks, port scans, or any other activities that pose risks or invade the security of HOSTNEY servers, facilities, or the servers and facilities of other network hosts or Internet users.
• You will not forge signatures or other identifying marks or engage in any activity, including "spoofing," to deceive others regarding your true identity (excluding the use of anonymous remailers or Internet nicknames).
• You will not display, store, distribute, or make available any content or material for which you are not authorized, whether due to legal restrictions, agreements, or other reasons. This includes but is not limited to, copyrighted music, videos, photos, designs, files, copyrighted software, personally identifiable information, protected confidential information, trade secrets, etc.
• You will not display, store, distribute, or make available any "protected health information" as defined under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ("HIPAA").
• If you intend to host websites related to high-risk activities, where disruption or malfunction of the Services could lead to serious consequences such as personal injury, death, environmental damage, etc., you must obtain explicit consent from HOSTNEY. Prior to submitting your Order, you must receive confirmation from us regarding your eligibility to use the Services for such websites. Examples of high-risk activities include but are not limited to, nuclear facilities, air traffic control, life and health support, etc.
• You will not impersonate any individual or organization;
• You will not cause harm or attempt to harm minors;
• You will not provide audio and/or video streaming services;
• You will not include crypto pools or mining scripts, promote schemes for making money through cryptocurrencies, or function as crypto exchanges or crypto airdrop sites;
• You will not feature any website, content, links, or advertisements that:
  • Violate the copyrights, trademarks, patents, trade secrets, or other proprietary rights of any party;
  • Express or promote hatred towards specific social, ethnic, religious, or other groups;
  • Include viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time bombs, ransomware, spyware, adware, scareware, corrupted files, or any other malicious software or programs that may disrupt, limit functionality, or damage software, hardware, or equipment;
  • Contain illegal or hacking/phreaking software (warez);
  • Contain copyrighted software that is not freely available for distribution without cost, including ROMs, ROM emulators, and MPEG Layer 3 files (MP3);
  • Incorporate proxy servers or other traffic relaying programs;
  • Promote money-making schemes, multi-level marketing, or similar activities;
  • Include torrent trackers, torrent portals, or similar software;
  • Are utilized for operating peer-to-peer network systems and file-sharing systems;
  • Display adult content, pornographic material, obscenities, engage in unlawful harassment, or are associated with child abuse or sex-related merchandise;
  • Contain personal data, private information, images, photos, videos, or any other identifying information or material of any third party, including children, without their consent (or a parent's consent in the case of a minor);
  • Advertise, encourage, or provide any form of support for the unauthorized use and/or sale of drugs and related substances;
  • Contain data or material that is unlawful, abusive, threatening, harassing, or defamatory;
  • Distribute fake news, misleading, untrue, or inaccurate information;
  • Promote, encourage, or provide any form of support for violence and terrorism.

Regulated and Sensitive Information

Running an e-commerce site on our platform is possible, as long as you adhere to certain guidelines that ensure credit card information is not processed or stored on our platform. It is strictly prohibited to use or cause the Services to store or handle sensitive or regulated health or financial information, which includes Protected Health Information (as defined by HIPAA), cardholder data protected by PCI DSS regulations (such as credit or debit card data), or any other financial data (including financial account details). By using our platform, you acknowledge and agree that we are not liable for any consequences resulting from your violation of this restriction.

Overburdening Resources

You are prohibited from interfering with our business operations or our ability to serve other customers, as well as from engaging in any activities or utilizing the HOSTNEY services in a manner that excessively strains the network or systems involved in providing those services. Specifically, the use of open proxies, Internet Relay Chat, or video streaming on the Services is not permitted. If your usage of the Services significantly exceeds that of other customers in similar situations, we reserve the right to impose restrictions on your use of the Services. Prior written approval from us is required before conducting any vulnerability or penetration testing on HOSTNEY's network or systems, including your own hosted environment.

Security

You are required to maintain the security of all your login credentials at all times. We reserve the right to conduct audits to assess the security level of your login credentials. If we discover that your login credentials have been compromised (such as through brute-force attacks, hijacking, theft, etc.) and are being used or have been used to upload, maintain, or operate unacceptable content, data, materials, or websites, we may suspend access to the compromised Service. This includes but is not limited to your User Portal, hosting service, user accounts, website, and FTP service. If such actions are taken against your hosting account, we will provide you with a notification.

If your utilization of HOSTNEY's Services leads to a breach of the Acceptable Use Policy (AUP), we reserve the right to take immediate corrective action, which may include deleting content or suspending the Service, without prior notice. Persistent violations of the AUP will result in the termination of the Agreement without any refund. HOSTNEY cannot be held responsible for any losses or damages arising from the measures taken to address actions that cause harm to HOSTNEY, other HOSTNEY customers, or any third party.

HOSTNEY will not offer legal advice regarding the compliance of content and materials uploaded or transmitted through our Services. It is your sole responsibility to ensure that your content and materials adhere to all relevant laws, including those in the jurisdictions where your content and/or materials are uploaded, hosted, or accessed. HOSTNEY will not assume any liability if your use of the Services violates any laws or regulations.

We retain the right to terminate the Agreement without refund if the Services are suspended due to a breach of the Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) or the Terms of Service (TOS).

If you come across any violations of our AUP, please report them to us by emailing abuse@hostney.com.

Prohibited Content

Examples of unacceptable content, data, materials, and websites on all HOSTNEY servers include but are not limited to:

• IRC Bots
• Proxy Scripts
• Warez
• Image, file dump, mirror, or banner-ad services
• Streaming Services
• Escrow
• High-Yield Interest Programs
• Investment sites
• Controlled substances
• Hate sites
• Hacking-focused sites/archives/programs
• Sites promoting illegal activities
• IP Scanners
• Brute Force Programs
• Mail Bombers
• Spam Scripts
• Forum sites and any other websites that engage in the distribution or linking to warez or leaked content are explicitly prohibited.