HOSTING TERMS & CONDITIONS

Download pdf file of the Spam Law Act.

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 subscribers obtain information through the Internet, they must keep in mind that DKG Web Hosting cannot monitor, verify, warrant, or vouch for the accuracy and quality of the information that subscribers may acquire. For this reason, the subscriber 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 DKG Web Hosting cannot monitor or censor the Internet, and will not attempt to do so, DKG Web Hosting cannot accept any responsibility for injury to its subscribers that results from inaccurate, unsuitable, offensive, or illegal Internet communications.

When subscribers disseminate information through the Internet, they also must keep in mind that DKG Web Hosting does not review, edit, censor, or take responsibility for any information its subscribers 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 DKG Web Hosting’s network and may reach a large number of people, including both subscribers and nonsubscribers of DKG, subscribers’ postings to the Internet may affect other subscribers and may harm DKG Web Hosting’s goodwill, business reputation, and operations. For these reasons, subscribers violate DKG Web Hosting policy and the service agreement when they, their customers, affiliates, or subsidiaries engage in the following prohibited activities:

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. Also, engaging in activity that violates privacy, publicity, or other personal rights of others. DKG Web Hosting is required by law to remove or block access to customer content upon receipt of a proper notice of copyright infringement. It is also DKG Web Hosting’s policy to terminate the privileges of customers who commit repeat violations of copyright laws.

Obscene Speech or Materials
Using DKG Web Hosting’s network to advertise, transmit, store, post, display, or otherwise make available child pornography or obscene speech or material. DKG Web 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 DKG Web Hosting’s network.

Defamatory or Abusive Language
Using DKG Web Hosting’s network as a means to transmit or post defamatory, harassing, abusive, or threatening language.

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”). Also, 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).

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. Also, activities that disrupt the use of or interfere with the ability of others to effectively use the network or any connected network, system, service, or equipment.

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.

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.

Other Activities
Engaging in activities, whether lawful or unlawful, that DKG Web Hosting determines to be harmful to its subscribers, operations, reputation, goodwill, or customer relations.

System and Network Resource Usage
DKG servers and networks are carefully maintained to provide optimum performance for serving web content on the Internet. Subscribers are expected to operate their accounts in such a manner that is not detrimental to system and network performance and stability. DKG monitors its servers and networks closely, and failure to comply with the following conditions could result in termination of the subscriber’s service and fees assessed against the subscriber:

1. Excessive System Utilization. CGI or PHP scripts utilizing a significant percentage of a server’s system resources will, at DKG’ discretion, be terminated and/or prevented from running. It is the subscriber’s responsibility to ensure their processes use a minimum of server resources.

2. Excessive Network Utilization. While subscribers are allocated a certain amount of data transfers per month, DKG generally prefers not to cap subscribers’ bandwidth. However, subscribers using an excessive amount of bandwidth in a short period of time will, at DKG’ discretion, be throttled or have their site and/or account otherwise rendered unusable until the subscriber is able to rectify their usage.

3. Overuse of Scheduled Processes. Scheduled processes (such as cron jobs) can significantly drain server and network resources. DKG reserves the right to stop any scheduled process from running or reduce the frequency of operation should it be found to be using more than a reasonable share of a server’s resources.

4. Excessive Database Access. Database resources, such as MySQL and MSSQL, are closely monitored by DKG. Overuse of database resources, including but not limited to excessive or mismanaged connections, long queries and missing or inappropriate indexing, may result in the database queries being terminated and/or the correlating script being stopped.

5. Sending Bulk Email. Sending solicited or opt-in bulk email is limited to 500 emails per hour from any one account. To facilitate this requirement, subscribers can request that a cron job be set up to batch process large email lists.

Spamming
It is a prohibited use of DKG Web Hosting’s network to accept, transmit or distribute unsolicited bulk e-mail of an advertising or promotional nature.

The only circumstances in which DKG Web Hosting’s network may be used to send unsolicited e-mail of an advertising or promotional nature (otherwise known as “spam”) is where the unsolicited e-mail is sent to persons with whom the sender has a pre-existing business, professional or personal relationship or to persons who have previously indicated their consent to receive e-mail from the sender from time to time, for example by ticking a box to that effect on the vendor’s web site. Unless these requirements are met, the Customer must not send unsolicited bulk e-mail on DKG Web Hosting’s network. If these requirements are met, the Customer must also provide an unsubscribe function on their web site (and make this function known to recipients in the relevant e-mails) which allows those recipients to elect to be removed from that mailing list.

A Customer using DKG Web Hosting’s network to run an e-mail subscription service must also observe the following requirements:

1. a subscriber of the subscription service must nominate their own e-mail address to the Customer;

2. the Customer must then send an e-mail to the subscriber seeking confirmation that the subscriber wants to be added to the Customer’s mailing list;

3. the subscriber’s e-mail address is only to be added to the Customer’s mailing list if the subscriber replies to the Customer’s request e-mail confirming that the subscriber wants to be added to the Customer’s mailing list;

4. if the subscriber fails to reply within 14 days, the Customer must remove the subscriber’s e-mail address from the Customer’s e-mail mailing list; and

5. the Customer’s unsubscribe function must allow for immediate removal of an e-mail address from the Customer’s mailing list when requested by a subscriber and for a reply confirming removal to be sent to the Subscriber.

Resolution of System and Network Resource Usage Problems
All problems found by DKG that are within the subscribers control and that breach any of the above conditions or other unforseen system or network abuse are the responsibility of the subscriber to fix. DKG will make every attempt to notify the subscriber about such issues and the underlying reasons. DKG may, from time to time, assist subscribers in researching and repairing the problem. This is done as a courtesy and does not imply that DKG will take responsibility for fixing the problem. DKG may, at its discretion, remove access to impacted services until the subscriber resolves the problem. DKG reserves the right to remove access to any service or feature that it feels is being abused, knowingly or unknowingly, by the subscriber.

Summary
As we have pointed out, the responsibility for avoiding the harmful activities just described rests primarily with the subscriber. DKG Web Hosting will not, as an ordinary practice, monitor the communications of its subscribers to ensure that they comply with DKG Web Hosting policy or applicable law. When DKG Web Hosting becomes aware of harmful activities, however, it may take any action to stop the harmful activity, including but not limited to, removing information, shutting down a web site, implementing screening software designed to block offending transmissions, denying access to the Internet, or take any other action it deems appropriate.

DKG Web Hosting also is aware that many of its subscribers are, themselves, providers of Internet services, and that information reaching DKG Web Hosting’s facilities from those subscribers may have originated from a customer of the subscriber or from another third-party. DKG Web Hosting does not require its subscribers who offer Internet services to monitor or censor transmissions or web sites created by customers of its subscribers. DKG Web Hosting has the right to directly take action against a customer of a subscriber. Also, DKG Web Hosting may take action against the DKG Web Hosting subscriber because of activities of a customer of the subscriber, even though the action may effect other customers of the subscriber. Similarly, DKG Web Hosting anticipates that subscribers who offer Internet services will cooperate with DKG Web Hosting in any corrective or preventive action that DKG Web Hosting deems necessary. Failure to cooperate with such corrective or preventive measures is a violation of DKG Web Hosting policy.

DKG Web 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, DKG Web Hosting urges its subscribers to assume that all of their on-line communications are insecure. DKG Web Hosting cannot take any responsibility for the security of information transmitted over DKG Web Hosting’s facilities.

DKG Web Hosting will not intentionally monitor private electronic mail messages sent or received by its subscribers unless required to do so by law, governmental authority, or when public safety is at stake. DKG Web Hosting may, however, monitor its service electronically to determine that its facilities are operating satisfactorily. Also, DKG Web Hosting may disclose information, including but not limited to, information concerning a subscriber, 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. DKG Web Hosting assumes no obligation to inform the subscriber that subscriber information has been provided and in some cases may be prohibited by law from giving such notice. Finally, DKG Web Hosting may disclose subscriber information or information transmitted over its network where necessary to protect DKG Web Hosting and others from harm, or where such disclosure is necessary to the proper operation of the system.

DKG Web Hosting expects that its subscribers who provide Internet services to others will comply fully with all applicable laws concerning the privacy of on-line communications. A subscriber’s failure to comply with those laws will violate DKG Web Hosting policy. Finally, DKG Web Hosting wishes to emphasize that in signing the service agreement, subscribers indemnify DKG Web Hosting for any violation of the service agreement, law, or DKG Web Hosting policy, that results in loss to DKG Web Hosting or the bringing of any claim against DKG Web Hosting by any third-party. This means that if DKG Web Hosting is sued because of a subscriber’s or customer of a subscriber’s activity, the subscriber will pay any damages awarded against DKG, plus costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees.

We hope this AUP is helpful in clarifying the obligations of Internet users, including DKG Web Hosting and its subscribers, as responsible members of the Internet.

As a provider of web site hosting, DKG Web Hosting offers its customers (also known as subscribers), and their customers and users, the means to acquire and disseminate a wealth of public, private, commercial, and non-commercial information. DKG Web 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, DKG Web Hosting reserves the right to take certain preventative or corrective actions. In order to protect these competing interests, DKG Web 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 DKG Web Hosting’s services. This AUP will be revised from time to time. A customer’s use of DKG Web Hosting’s services after changes to the AUP are posted on DKG Web Hosting’s web site, www.dkgcreative.com.au, will constitute the customer’s acceptance of any new or additional terms of the AUP that result from those changes.