Acceptable Use Policy

Snowtech Services' Acceptable Use Policy ("AUP") is designed to protect Snowtech Services' customers ("Customers") and third parties, further compliance with all relevant laws and regulations, and promote the security and availability of Snowtech Services' network, servers and physical infrastructure. This AUP applies to each Customer's use of the services provided to it by Snowtech Services ("Services") and every server or network device that is under Snowtech Services or each Customer's control and attached to Snowtech Services infrastructure as a part of the Services ("Server").

This AUP is incorporated by this reference into each Customer's service agreement. Snowtech Services reserves the right to amend this AUP from time to time, and a Customer's use of the Services after changes to the AUP are posted on Snowtech Services' website www.snowtech.com.au will constitute the Customer's acceptance of any such amendments as will payment of each invoice.

Customers are responsible for complying with this AUP and for violations attributable to their customers and users, whether authorized or not by Customer. Customers must take all reasonable steps to ensure that they, their customers and users will comply with this AUP.

This AUP does not (a) obligate Snowtech Services to monitor, review, or police the data and content residing on its network or (b) create any obligation of Snowtech Services to any party that is not a Customer. Snowtech Services expressly disclaims any liability for the data and content residing on its network and servers and for the actions of its Customers.

Any questions or comments regarding this AUP should be directed to Snowtech Services' support team, by contacting support@snowtech.com.au or in the case of existing clients through the Client Support Area at https://www.snowtech.com.au/clientarea.php.

Prohibited Content

Customers of Snowtech Services shall not allow the posting, transmission, or storage of data and content on or through the Services which, in Snowtech's sole determination, constitutes a violation of any relevant law, regulation, ordinance, or court order, including but not limited to the Australian Spam Act. Customers shall be responsible for determining what laws or regulations are applicable to their use of the Services. Prohibited content includes, without limitation, (a) content or code that facilitate any violation of, or describe ways to violate, this AUP or (b) "harvested" addresses or information, (c) "phishing" web sites, or (d) "spamvertising" sites.

A Customer shall not knowingly host on its account, or transmit over Snowtech's servers or network, any material believed by Snowtech to constitute child pornography. In addition to any other actions it may take under this AUP, Snowtech Services reserves the right to cooperate fully with any criminal investigation of content located on a Server that constitutes alleged child pornography.

Customer Security Obligation

Customers must use reasonable care to ensure the security of each Server. A Customer is solely responsible for any intrusions into, or security breaches of, any of its Domains or Servers, except as otherwise covered by a specifically designated security administration or firewall security service package ordered by the Customer. Snowtech Services reserves the right to disconnect without provision of service credit any Server or Account which disrupts Snowtech's servers, network, or any hardware objects on the network as a result of a security compromise.

Server Resource Abuse

At Snowtech Services, we strive to provide optimal server performance for all our customers. Therefore, any activities that are deemed by us as constituting resource or server abuse are strictly prohibited. These activities include but are not limited to:

  • Running any process that utilizes more than 2048MB of memory space, more than 240 CPU seconds, or uses more than 25% of all available system resources at any time.
  • Running any type of interactive real-time chat application that requires server resources. However, remotely-hosted services are fully allowed.
  • Running stand-alone, unattended server-side processes at any point in time on the server. This includes any and all daemons.
  • Running any software that interfaces with an IRC (Internet Relay Chat) network.

Customers are responsible for ensuring that their scripts and programs are written efficiently and do not consume excessive server resources. We reserve the right to suspend or terminate any account that violates this policy.

Note that any form of spamming is strictly prohibited under the Australian Spam Act of 2003. Any customer found to be engaging in such activities will be immediately terminated without notice, and their account will be reported to the relevant authorities.

Network Abuse

Snowtech Services prohibits customers from engaging in any activities that it determines to constitute network abuse, in accordance with Australian laws and regulations. This includes, but is not limited to, the following:

  • Introducing or executing malicious programs, such as viruses, worms, Trojan horses, and key loggers, into any network or server.
  • Causing or initiating security breaches or disruptions of network communication and/or connectivity, including port scans, flood pings, email-bombing, packet spoofing, IP spoofing, and forged routing information.
  • Executing any form of network activity that intercepts data not intended for the customer's server or account.
  • Evading or circumventing user authentication or security of any host, network, or account, including cracking, brute-force, or dictionary attacks.
  • Interfering with or denying service to any user, host, or network other than the customer's host, such as a denial of service attack or distributed denial of service attack.
  • Conduct designed to avoid restrictions or access limits to specific services, hosts, or networks, including the forging of packet headers or other identification information.
  • Using any program or sending messages of any kind designed to interfere with or disable a user's terminal session.
  • Violating the Anti-Spam Laws of any country.

Snowtech Services reserves the right to take appropriate action against customers who engage in network abuse, including but not limited to suspending or terminating the customer's account, notifying appropriate authorities, and seeking legal action as necessary.

Intellectual Property Infringement Policy

Customers of Snowtech Services are prohibited from transmitting, distributing, downloading, copying, caching, hosting, or storing on a Server any information, data, material, or work that infringes the intellectual property rights of others, including but not limited to copyright, trademark, and patent. In addition to any actions that may be taken under any applicable law or regulation, Snowtech Services reserves the right to disable access to or remove any infringing content.

Customers are responsible for ensuring that they have the necessary rights and permissions to use any content they upload to the server. Snowtech Services will investigate and take appropriate action against any customer who is found to have repeatedly violated this Intellectual Property Infringement Policy or any applicable copyright law, up to and including permanent suspension or termination of their account.

Email Policy

At Snowtech Services, customers must comply with all relevant legislation and regulations on bulk and commercial email, including the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 and the Australian Anti-Spam Legislation 2004. The following activities are prohibited:

  • Sending unsolicited bulk messages over the Internet (spamming).
  • Sending mass unsolicited emails to recipients who have not double-opted-in to mailings from the Customer. Customers who send mass mailings must maintain complete and accurate records of all consents and opt-ins, including the actual email and its headers, and provide such records to Snowtech Services upon its request. If a Customer cannot provide positive and verifiable proof of such consents and opt-ins, Snowtech Services will consider the mass mailing to be unsolicited.
  • Operating mailing lists, listservs, or mailing services that do not target an audience that has voluntarily signed up for email information using a double opt-in process or that has made their email addresses available to Customer for distribution of information. Customers who operate mailing lists must maintain complete and accurate records of all consents and opt-ins (including the actual emails and their headers) and provide such records to Snowtech Services upon its request. If a Customer cannot provide positive and verifiable proof of such consents and opt-ins, Snowtech Services will consider the list mailing to be unsolicited. Any Customer-maintained mailing list must also allow any party on the list to remove itself automatically and permanently. On shared servers no more than 500 emails may be sent from an account in an hour.
  • Use of Snowtech Services' servers and network for the receipt of replies to unsolicited mass email.
  • Forgery of email headers ("spoofing").
  • Spamming via third-party proxy, aggregation of proxy lists, or installation of proxy mailing software.
  • Configuration of a mail server to accept and process third-party messages for sending without user identification and authentication.
  • Hosting web pages advertised within "spam email" sent from another network ("spamvertising").
  • Any other unsolicited bulk messages, postings, or transmissions through media such as weblog posts, IRC/chat room messages, guestbook entries, HTTP referrer log entries, Usenet posts, pop-up messages, instant messages, or SMS messages.

Snowtech Services reserves the right to suspend permanently or terminate the Services of any Customer that violates Snowtech Services' Email Policy. Additionally, if a Customer's actions result in Snowtech Services' mail servers or IP address ranges being placed on black hole lists and other mail filtering software systems, Snowtech Services shall charge the Customer $100 up front and $100 per hour thereafter for any necessary remedial actions.

IP Allocation:

Customers must use only the IP addresses assigned to them by Snowtech Services. If a Customer is found to be using IP addresses outside of their assigned range, Snowtech Services reserves the right to suspend network access to their account or server.

IRC Policy:

Customers may not operate and maintain IRC servers that connect to global IRC networks such as Undernet, EFnet, or DALnet, unless they are using their own Dedicated Server. The use of IRC plug-ins, scripts, add-ons, clones, or other software designed to disrupt or deny service to other users is strictly prohibited. Any harassing or abusive activity on IRC, including the disruption or denial of service or the use or joining of "botnets," is expressly prohibited under Snowtech Services' AUP. Customers who frequently have their IRC servers compromised or attract denial of service or distributed denial of service attacks that disrupt or deny service to other Customers or users may have their service null-routed, filtered, suspended, or terminated by Snowtech Services. Additionally, the use of IRC BNCs or other proxy and redirection software is also prohibited.

Usenet Policy:

Snowtech Services requires customers to adhere to the established standards of the Internet community and the applicable newsgroup charter when posting and sharing content on Usenet. Any posts or content that violate the Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) will not be tolerated. Snowtech Services reserves the right to determine whether such posts violate the AUP and take appropriate action, including account suspension or termination.

Legal Investigations

Customers of Snowtech Services are required to cooperate with any civil or criminal investigation related to the content on their accounts or servers. Such investigations may include discovery orders, subpoenas, search warrants, freeze orders, information requests, wire taps, electronic intercepts and surveillance, preservation requests, and any other court or government order. Snowtech Services reserves the right to comply with any investigation without notice to the customer.

If compliance with an investigation causes a customer to incur downtime or requires the sequestering of all or a portion of the servers, Snowtech Services shall not be in default under any agreement for services, and customers will not be entitled to service credits.

Violations of AUP

Snowtech Services may enforce this AUP with or without notice to a Customer by any actions it deems necessary in its sole discretion, including the following:

  • Disabling access to a Customer's content that violates this AUP
  • Removal of DNS records from Servers
  • Blocking mail or any other network service
  • Effecting IP address null routing
  • Suspending or terminating of a Customer's service
  • Taking direct action against a Customer's users and customers.

The aforementioned list of actions shall not be construed in any way to limit the actions or remedies that Snowtech Services may take to enforce and ensure compliance with this AUP. Snowtech Services reserves the right to recover any and all expenses, and apply any reasonable charges, in connection with a Customer's violation of this AUP. No service credits will be issued for any interruption in service resulting from violations of this AUP.

Snowtech Services reserves the right at all times to investigate any actual, suspected, or alleged violations of this AUP, with such investigation to include accessing of data and records on, or associated with, any Server.