Acceptable Use Policy

This Acceptable Use Policy (the “AUP”) describes activities that are prohibited on the DataGuys network and services. It exists to keep our platform fast, secure, and reliable for everyone, and to keep DataGuys.co LLC (“DataGuys”, dataguys.co), a global provider, on the right side of the law. This AUP is part of, and is incorporated into, our Terms of Service. If there is a conflict between a specific restriction here and a more general statement in the Terms, the more specific restriction governs the conduct it addresses.

1. Purpose and scope

This AUP applies to every DataGuys product and service — web hosting (shared, managed WordPress, semi-dedicated “Hosting Plus,” and VDS / VPS servers), domain registration, professional email, security products, marketing services, and websites we build or host — and to all use of our network, servers, IP addresses, control panel, and support systems. It applies whether the activity is intentional or the result of insecure or misconfigured software running under your account.

2. Who is responsible

You are responsible for everything that happens under your account, including the actions of your employees, clients, resellers, site visitors, and anyone else you allow to use the account, and including automated software and scripts you install. If a third party’s content or code on your account violates this AUP, it is treated as your violation. You agree to make your own users and customers aware of the rules in this AUP and to be responsible for their compliance.

3. Prohibited activities — overview

You may not use DataGuys services to engage in, facilitate, host, or link to any of the activities or content described in the sections below. This list is illustrative, not exhaustive: conduct that is abusive, deceptive, illegal, or that endangers our network or other customers is prohibited even if it is not specifically named here.

4. Spam and email abuse

Sending unsolicited bulk or commercial email (“spam”) through, or in connection with, DataGuys services is strictly prohibited, regardless of where the message physically originates, if it directs recipients to a site hosted on our network. Specifically, you may not:

• send unsolicited bulk email, unsolicited commercial email, or chain letters, or otherwise send email that violates the U.S. CAN-SPAM Act or any applicable anti-spam law;
• send to purchased, rented, harvested, or otherwise non-consented email lists, or to recipients who have not opted in to hear from you;
• send commercial email without accurate header and “from” information, a truthful subject line, a valid physical postal address, and a working, promptly-honored unsubscribe mechanism (all CAN-SPAM requirements);
• operate an open mail relay or open proxy, or configure mail software in a way that allows third parties to send mail through your account;
• forge, spoof, or falsify email headers, envelope information, or the originating address of any message.

To protect deliverability and our IP reputation, shared and Hosting Plus accounts are subject to reasonable outbound sending limits (for example, per-hour and per-day message caps and per-message recipient caps). High-volume, transactional, or marketing email is better sent through a dedicated email-delivery provider; contact us at contact@dataguys.co before launching a large campaign so we can advise on the right setup.

5. Malware, phishing, and fraud

You may not use our services to host, distribute, transmit, or link to:

• malware, viruses, worms, trojans, ransomware, spyware, keyloggers, or any code designed to disrupt, damage, or gain unauthorized access to a system;
• phishing pages, spoofed login forms, or any content that impersonates a person, brand, or institution to deceive users or harvest credentials or payment data;
• fraudulent, deceptive, or misleading schemes, including advance-fee fraud, fake storefronts, pyramid or Ponzi schemes, carding, and identity theft.

6. Illegal content and zero tolerance for child exploitation

You may not store, publish, transmit, or link to content that is illegal under United States federal law or the laws of the state in which DataGuys.co LLC is organized, or that promotes or facilitates illegal acts.

DataGuys has zero tolerance for child sexual abuse material (CSAM) or any content that sexually exploits minors. Accounts involved with such material are terminated immediately and without notice, and we report the material and associated account information to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) and to law enforcement as required by law. We preserve related records as the law requires.

7. Intellectual-property infringement

You may not use our services to store, publish, or distribute content that infringes the copyrights, trademarks, patents, trade secrets, or other intellectual-property or proprietary rights of others, including pirated software, media, or unlicensed streaming. DataGuys responds to valid notices under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If you believe content on our network infringes your rights, or you have received a takedown notice, see our DMCA Policy for how to submit a notice or counter-notice.

8. Network and system abuse

You may not use DataGuys services to:

• gain or attempt to gain unauthorized access to any system, account, network, or data, whether ours or a third party’s;
• scan, probe, or test the vulnerability of a network or system, or breach security or authentication measures, without the explicit authorization of its owner;
• originate, launch, or participate in denial-of-service (DoS) or distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, flooding, or other traffic intended to disrupt a host or network;
• forge, spoof, or manipulate TCP/IP packet headers, IP addresses, or any part of a message in a network transmission;
• monitor, intercept, or capture data or traffic not intended for you, or interfere with service to any user, host, or network (including deliberate attempts to overload a system).

9. Resource use and fair-use limits

Shared and Hosting Plus accounts run on infrastructure shared with other customers. Practices that consume a disproportionate share of CPU, memory, disk I/O, database, or network resources, and thereby degrade service for others, are not permitted on these plans. In particular, on shared and Hosting Plus accounts you may not:

• run sustained, resource-intensive processes that monopolize CPU, RAM, or I/O, or spawn excessive concurrent processes;
• engage in cryptocurrency mining or run mining pools or related workloads;
• use the account primarily as bulk file storage, an offsite backup dump, or a media-distribution or file-sharing service rather than to operate a website;
• operate public proxies, anonymizers, VPN exit nodes, Tor relays or exit nodes, IRC servers, torrent trackers, or seedboxes.

Workloads that legitimately need dedicated, isolated resources belong on a VDS / VPS server, where you control the environment (subject to the network-abuse and legality rules above). If you are unsure whether your usage fits your plan, ask us at contact@dataguys.co — we would rather help you right-size than suspend a busy site.

10. High-risk and restricted content

Certain categories of content carry elevated legal, security, or abuse risk. Where such content is lawful, we may still restrict it, require it to move to a VDS / VPS or dedicated environment, or decline to host it, at our discretion. These categories include, without limitation, adult material, gambling and gaming services, pharmacy and controlled- substance sales, firearms and weapons sales, high-yield investment programs and other financial schemes, and bulk-email or list-marketing operations. Any such content must fully comply with all applicable U.S. and state laws, licensing requirements, and age-verification requirements. Content that is unlawful in any of these categories is prohibited outright.

11. Reselling and sublicensing

You may not resell, sublicense, share, or redistribute DataGuys services to third parties except under a reseller or partner arrangement we have authorized in writing. Unauthorized resale, and any use that circumvents plan limits or per-account pricing, is prohibited.

12. Your security responsibilities

A large share of abuse we see starts with a compromised, out-of-date site. You are responsible for the security of the applications and content you run on your account. At a minimum, you agree to:

• keep your CMS, themes, plugins, extensions, frameworks, and other software patched and up to date, and remove software you no longer use;
• use strong, unique passwords for your control panel, portal, email, and site logins, enable available two-factor authentication, and keep credentials confidential;
• promptly remediate malware, backdoors, or vulnerabilities we or our tools identify on your account;
• notify us at contact@dataguys.co as soon as you suspect a compromise or unauthorized use of your account.

A compromised account that is being used to send spam, host malware, or attack others may be suspended to protect the network until it is cleaned, even though the underlying breach was not intentional on your part.

13. Enforcement

When we identify a violation of this AUP, we may take any action we consider appropriate, including issuing a warning, throttling or rate-limiting the account, removing or disabling the offending content, suspending the account, or terminating services. Where practical we will contact you first and give you an opportunity to fix the problem. We may, however, act immediately and without prior notice when a violation endangers our network, other customers, or third parties, when it exposes us to legal liability, or when the law requires it.

Services suspended or terminated for an AUP violation are not eligible for a refund, and our 7-day money-back guarantee does not apply to them; see our Refund Policy for details. You remain responsible for charges incurred before termination.

14. Reporting abuse

If you believe a site or account on the DataGuys network is violating this AUP — spam, phishing, malware, fraud, network attacks, or illegal content — please report it to abuse@dataguys.co or contact@dataguys.co. Include the URL or IP address involved, relevant timestamps and time zone, and any headers, logs, or samples that help us investigate. We review every report and take appropriate action, though we may not be able to share the outcome of an investigation with the reporter.

15. Cooperation with law enforcement

We cooperate with law enforcement and regulatory authorities. We may disclose account information and content, and preserve records, in response to a valid subpoena, court order, or other lawful request, or where we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect our network, our customers, the public, or to comply with the law. We may also refer serious violations to the appropriate authorities on our own initiative.

16. Changes and contact

We may update this AUP from time to time as threats, laws, and our services evolve. When we do, we will revise the “Last updated” date above, and continued use of the services after a change takes effect constitutes acceptance of the updated policy. Questions about this AUP, or about whether a particular use is allowed? Email contact@dataguys.co or call or text (520) 309-5786. DataGuys.