Acceptable Use Policy
1. As a provider of Internet access, web site hosting, and other Internet-related services, Carpathia Hosting offers its Customers, and their customers and users, the means to acquire and disseminate public, private, commercial, and non-commercial information. Carpathia Hosting respects that the Internet provides a forum for free and open discussion and dissemination of information, however, when there are competing interests at issue, Carpathia Hosting reserves the right to take certain preventative or corrective actions. In order to protect these competing interests, Carpathia Hosting has developed an Acceptable Use Policy ("AUP"), which supplements and explains certain terms of each Customer's respective service agreement and is intended as a guide to the Customer's rights and obligations when utilizing Carpathia Hosting's services. This AUP will be revised from time to time.
2. One important aspect of the Internet is that no one party owns or controls it. This fact accounts for much of the Internet's openness and value, but it also places a high premium on the judgment and responsibility of those who use the Internet, both in the information they acquire and in the information they disseminate to others. When Customers obtain information through the Internet, they must keep in mind that Carpathia Hosting cannot monitor, verify, warrant, or vouch for the accuracy and quality of the information that Customers may acquire. For this reason, the Customer must exercise his or her best judgment in relying on information obtained from the Internet, and also should be aware that some material posted to the Internet is sexually explicit or otherwise offensive. Because Carpathia Hosting cannot monitor or censor the Internet, and will not attempt to do so, Carpathia Hosting cannot accept any responsibility for injury to its Customers that results from inaccurate, unsuitable, offensive, or illegal Internet communications.
3. When Customers disseminate information through the Internet, they also must keep in mind that Carpathia Hosting does not review, edit, censor, or take responsibility for any information its Customers may create. When users place information on the Internet, they have the same liability as other authors for copyright infringement, defamation, and other harmful speech. Also, because the information they create is carried over Carpathia Hosting's network and may reach a large number of people, including both Customers and non-Customers of Carpathia Hosting, Customers' postings to the Internet may affect other Customers and may harm Carpathia Hosting's goodwill, business reputation, and operations. For these reasons, Customers violate the Acceptable Use Policy when they, their end users, affiliates, or subsidiaries engage in the following prohibited activities:
3.1 Spamming -- Sending unsolicited bulk and/or commercial messages over the Internet (known as "spamming"). It is not only harmful because of its negative impact on consumer attitudes toward Carpathia Hosting, but also because it can overload Carpathia Hosting's network and disrupt service to Carpathia Hosting customers. In addition, maintaining an open SMTP relay is prohibited.
3.2 Intellectual Property Violations -- Engaging in any activity that infringes or misappropriates the intellectual property rights of others, including copyrights, trademarks, service marks, trade secrets, software piracy, and patents held by individuals, corporations, or other entities. Engaging in activity that violates privacy, publicity, or other personal rights of others.
3.3 Obscene Materials -- Using Carpathia Hosting's network to advertise, transmit, store, post, display, or otherwise make available child pornography or obscene material. Carpathia Hosting is required by law to notify law enforcement agencies when it becomes aware of the presence of child pornography on or being transmitted through Carpathia Hosting's network.
3.4 Defamatory or Abusive Language -- Using Carpathia Hosting's network as a means to transmit or post defamatory, harassing, abusive, or threatening language.
3.5 Forging of Headers -- Forging or misrepresenting message headers, whether in whole or in part, to mask the originator of the message. Illegal or unauthorized access to other computers or networks -- Accessing illegally, or without authorization, computers, accounts, or networks belonging to another party, or attempting to penetrate security measures of another individual's system (often known as "hacking"). In addition, any activity that might be used as a precursor to an attempted system penetration (i.e. port scan, stealth scan, or other information gathering activity).
3.6 Denial Of Service Attacks -- Carpathia Hosting reserves the right to null-route any IP address on our network that is under a DoS or DDoS attack that is deemed disruptive to neighboring customers.
3.7 Distribution of Internet Viruses, Worms, Trojan Horses, or Other Destructive Activities -- Distributing information regarding the creation of and sending Internet viruses, worms, Trojan horses, pinging, flooding, mailbombing, or denial of service attacks. In addition, activities that disrupt the use of or interfere with the ability of other Carpathia customers to effectively use the network or any connected network, system, service, or equipment.
3.8 Internet Relay Chat (IRC) Service -- Carpathia Hosting does not support the hosting of IRC servers or bots.
3.9 Export Control Violations -- Exporting encryption software over the Internet or otherwise, to points outside the United States in violation of US Federal Regulations
3.10 Facilitating a Violation of this AUP -- Advertising, transmitting, or otherwise making available any software, program, product, or service that is designed to violate this AUP, which includes the facilitation of the means to spam, initiation of pinging, flooding, mailbombing, denial of service attacks, and piracy of software.
3.11 Usenet Groups -- Carpathia Hosting reserves the right not to accept postings from newsgroups where we have actual knowledge that the content of the newsgroup violates the AUP.
3.12 Other Illegal Activities -- Engaging in activities that are determined to be illegal, including advertising, transmitting, or otherwise making available ponzi schemes, pyramid schemes, fraudulently charging credit cards, and pirating software.
3.13 Other Activities -- Engaging in activities, whether lawful or unlawful, that Carpathia Hosting determines to be harmful to its customers, operations, reputation, goodwill, or customer relations.
4. The responsibility for avoiding the harmful activities described in Section 3 of this AUP rests with the Customer. Carpathia Hosting will not, as an ordinary practice, monitor the communications of its Customers to ensure that they comply with the Acceptable Use Policy or applicable law.
5. DMCA -- For information on how to file a DMCA please see the following link and PDF. When sending a DMCA into Carpathia Hosting, please use these guidelines and send your completed request into abuse@carpathiahost.com
Download Example: DMCA.pdf from www.copyright.gov
6. Carpathia Hosting is aware that many of its Customers are, themselves, providers of Internet services, and that information reaching Carpathia Hosting's facilities from Customers may have originated from an end user of the Customer or from another third-party. Carpathia Hosting does not require its Customers who offer Internet services to monitor or censor transmissions or web sites created by end users. Carpathia Hosting has the right to directly take action against a end user of a Customer. Also, Carpathia Hosting may take action against the Customer because of activities of an end user of the Customer, even though the action may affect other end users of the Customer. Similarly, Carpathia Hosting anticipates that Customers who offer Internet services will cooperate with Carpathia Hosting in any corrective or preventive action that Carpathia Hosting deems necessary and is reasonable. Failure to cooperate with such corrective or preventive measures is a violation of this Acceptable Use Policy. Carpathia Hosting also is concerned with the privacy of on-line communications and web sites. In general, the Internet is neither more nor less secure than other means of communication, including mail, facsimile, and voice telephone service, all of which can be intercepted and otherwise compromised. As a matter of prudence, however, Carpathia Hosting urges its Customers to assume that all of their on-line communications are insecure. Carpathia Hosting cannot take any responsibility for the security of information transmitted over Carpathia Hosting's facilities.
7. Carpathia Hosting will not intentionally monitor private electronic mail messages sent or received by its Customers unless required to do so by law, governmental authority, or when public safety is at stake. Carpathia Hosting may, however, monitor its service electronically to determine that its facilities are operating satisfactorily. Also, Carpathia Hosting may disclose information, including but not limited to, information concerning a Customer, a transmission made using our network, or a web site, in order to comply with a court order, subpoena, summons, discovery request, warrant, statute, regulation, or governmental request. Carpathia Hosting will inform the Customer that Customer information has been provided except in those cases where they may be prohibited by law from giving such notice. Finally, Carpathia Hosting, upon notice to the Customer, may disclose Customer information or information transmitted over its network where necessary to protect Carpathia Hosting and others from harm, or where such disclosure is necessary to the proper operation of the system.
8. Carpathia Hosting expects that its Customers who provide Internet services to others will comply fully with all applicable laws concerning the privacy of on-line communications. A Customer's failure to comply with those laws will violate the Acceptable Use Policy.
9. Any complaints about a customer's violation of this AUP should be sent to abuse@carpathiahost.com
