Acceptable Use Policy

General Statement: Echoservers is dedicated to the unrestricted free transmission of information via the Internet and its many resources. Our goal is to deliver enterprise quality on-demand IT services to all of our customers while serving as the medium of exchange for transmission of all information. The storage, distribution, and exchange of information (content) is the Internet’s single most valuable feature. Echoservers is dedicated to protecting the source and distribu- tion of information and protecting the rights and privileges of those utilizing it. Echoservers does not purport to be the content police; our duty in the process of information dissemination is simply to act as conduit between interested parties. Not withstanding anything found herein, Echoservers follows all local, state and federal laws pursuant to the services delivered over the internet and directly related to our network and internal systems. The purpose of the acceptable use policy is to inform all Customers of anticipated customer use. Due to the myriad of possibilities in maintaining a network comprised of thousands of servers, this document is intended to act as a guideline to service and not to be all encompassing.

Public Network: The primary purpose of the Echoservers public network is to transmit information (packets) to and from Customer servers and data storage services. Proper use of the public network is to utilize the network in any way so long as you do not violate any local, state, or federal laws or generate harm to the network or interfere with the use of services of other users utilizing the same network. All Customers are granted equal access to the public network. Violation, misuse, or interference of the public network will result in a violation of the AUP and shall result in methods of resolution under the acceptable use policy.

Private Network: The primary purpose of the Echoservers private network is to allow secure private network connectivity to the private backend network directly connecting Customer servers and Company delivered services. Proper use of the private network is the upload/download of content, server administration, transmission of information between servers, transmission of information between servers and Company servers, secure private administration of services, data retrieval, console access, and true out of band management of their entire IT environment. The private network can also be utilized for service access during periods of non-payment, copyright infringement, spam abuse, service interruption or other instances requiring server administration. All Customers are granted equal access to the private secure network to securely manage their services. Connectivity to the private network is granted on an unrestricted basis in eight (8) hour increments. Dedicated connections to the private network are available through the sales team. Violation, misuse, or interference of the private network will result in a violation of the AUP and shall result in methods of resolution under the acceptable use policy.

Security Services: The primary purpose of the Echoservers standard security services is to assist the Customer in the protection, management, update, and overall stability of the outsourced IT environment. All Echoservers services include network intrusion detection systems and denial of service mitigation via technology from 3Com (Tipping Point). These services are free of charge and are intended to mitigate or remove security risks associated with their perspective technologies. Echoservers also monitors all aggregate network traffic via Arbor networks and router netflow statistics for traffic analysis. Echoservers also supplies Microsoft update servers and Redhat update servers located on the private network for private secure update services. These services are included free of charge and are intended to assist Customers in the OS management of their servers. Other security services offered for a fee are covered via the terms of the individual services. These services include, but are not limited to: firewalls, host IDS, service monitors and similar type products and services. Outside of the global network security services described above, Customers are required and obligated to maintain security related to Customer managed servers. The management of dedicated servers requires basic security management including password management, port management, OS updates, application updates, security policy settings and more. The Customer is ultimately responsible for individual server security unless contracted security services are purchased. Any violation of the security services included in basic services will be addressed pursuant to the methods of resolution under the acceptable use policy.

Server Content: Echoservers does not actively monitor dedicated server content for review. Echoservers believes in the free dissemination of information via our services. Dedicated server content will only be reviewed upon complaint by verified third parties. Content that does not violate local, state and federal law or the acceptable use policy is deemed in compliance and shall remain intact. Legal adult content is allowed on Echoservers dedicated servers. Content deemed in violation will be addressed pursuant to the methods of resolution under the acceptable use policy.

IP Addresses: All Internet Protocol (IP) Addresses are owned and managed by Softlayer. IP Addresses are non-transferable from Echoservers and Customer retains no ownership or transfer rights to IP Addresses. All IP Addresses are assigned by the Echoservers engineering team on a per VLAN, per server basis. Attempted use of IP addresses not originally allocated for use or IP addresses use on non-assigned VLANs or servers is a violation of the acceptable use policy. Violation of the IP Address policy will result in methods of resolution under the acceptable use policy. All IP Addresses are currently registered to Softlayer Technologies Inc. via Arin.net assignments. Private IP assignments are available to qualified Customers.

IRC: Echoservers allows the use of private internet relay chat servers for communication among private parties. Echoservers absolutely prohibits the use of IRC servers connected to public IRC networks or servers. IRC servers that result in interference of service, malicious network activity or increased demand on network security services are in direct violation of the acceptable use policy. Violation of the IRC policy will result in methods of resolution under the acceptable use policy.

Peer to Peer: Echoservers allows the use of internet peer to peer software for file sharing purposes. Echoservers highly recommends strict oversight and manage- ment of peer to peer software environments due to the propensity to violate copyright law by sharing commercial software or copyright protected material. The sharing of copyright protected software and material is NOT allowed and is in direct violation of federal law and the acceptable use policy. Violation of the Peer to Peer policy will result in methods of resolution under the policy.

Bit Torrent: Echoservers allows the use of bit torrent protocols on the public network. Echoservers highly recommends strict oversight and management of Bit Torrent software environments due to the propensity to violate copyright law by sharing commercial software or copyright protected material. The sharing of copyright protected software and material is NOT allowed and is in direct violation of federal law and the acceptable use policy. Violation of the Bit Torrent policy will result in methods of resolution under the policy.

Disclosure to Law Enforcement: Occasionally, Echoservers is required by law to submit customer information to law enforcement officials when presented with a valid subpoena from a court with proper jurisdiction. Information requested is disclosed as directed pursuant to the subpoena. Echoservers utilizes great care in keeping customer information safe and private and will only release information described in the subpoena. Echoservers will notify customer of the information request as allowed by the subpoena.

Reporting Violation of the Acceptable Use Policy: Echoservers accepts reports of alleged violations of the acceptable use policy via email sent to abuse@Echoservers.com. Reports of alleged violations must be verified and include name, contact information, IP address, and description of the violation. Echoservers owes no duty to third parties reporting alleged violations due to lack of privity in contract law. Echoservers will review all verified third party reports and will take appropriate actions as described within the acceptable use policies.

Methods of Resolution for Violations under the Acceptable Use Policy: The ultimate goal of Echoservers is to balance the rights and interest of our customers in the highly evolving internet world. Echoservers understands the challenges of hosting companies, resellers, businesses, organizations and other customers who may have third party violations occur due to the nature of their business. The goal to our methods of resolution is to mitigate any service interruptions while resolving any potential violations under the policy. Our sales, support and abuse staff are dedicated to working with you in resolving potential violations and are available via phone or email. The methods of resolution below form the framework for a resolving all potential violations. Timing for resolution differs according to the degree of the violation, the nature of the violation, involvement of law enforcement, involvement of third party litigation, or other related factors. Overall, Echoservers is dedicated to working with the Customer in resolving all potential violations prior to any service interruptions.

Disclaimer: Echoservers retains the right, at its sole discretion, to refuse new service to any individual, group, or business. Echoservers also retains the right to discontinue service without notice for any reason.