This Acceptable Use Policy ("AUP") sets forth the principles that govern the use by customers of the systems, services and products provided by MidAtlanticBroadBand ("MidAtlanticBroadBand"). The AUP has been created to promote the integrity, security, reliability and privacy of MidAtlanticBroadBand's systems and networks.
This document applies to all entities of MidAtlanticBroadBand, including, but not limited to, all systems and services owned or operated by MidAtlanticBroadBand, including MidAtlanticBroadBand, Economic Computers Systems Inc., Economic Telecom, and Staffnet.
Customers shall not post, transmit, re-transmit or store material on or through any of MidAtlanticBroadBand's system services or products that:
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is in violation of any local, state, federal or non-United States law or regulation
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is threatening, obscene, indecent, defamatory or that otherwise could adversely affect any individual, group or entity (collectively, "Persons")
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violates the rights of any person, including rights protected by copyright, trade secret, patent or other intellectual property or similar laws or regulations including, but not limited to, the installation or distribution of "pirated" or other software products that are not appropriately licensed for use by customer.
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MidAtlanticBroadBand takes a very proactive approach to network security. This results in significant added value to the services we provide while ensuring that those same services are provided in a continuous, uninterrupted manner.
All clients are responsible for ensuring their networks and/or servers are not vulnerable to commonly known security risks. MidAtlanticBroadBand reserves the right to perform regular security audits on all devices attached to our network structure. Any attempt to circumvent these specific scans is a breech of this policy.
In the event that one or more serious vulnerabilities are detected by these audits, email describing the issue(s) will be immediately sent to the contact address provided for your account, as well as to MidAtlanticBroadBand's security staff.
Issues that put the greater network at risk, or could result in criminal activity, may be neutralized by security personnel via temporary suspension of IA services (connectivity, hosting, etc).
Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
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Application of publicly available patches, configurations, and workarounds related to security should be installed or implemented in a timely manner.
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Passwords must be kept secure, and must be reported immediately upon becoming compromised. All passwords should be at least 6 characters and no more than the maximum of 14, and should NOT be common words or names. For the best balance of simplicity and security, try combining a word with numbers, ie. surf76.
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Antivirus software should be kept up-to-date through regular updates and due diligence. Most vendors provide painless upgrades via the Internet, thus greatly simplifying the process.
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Clients are expected to check and read their email regularly in order to receive adminstrative, financial, and/or technical information from MidAtlanticBroadBand.
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Mail older than 30 days should NOT be stored on our mail servers. Such mail may be deleted during scheduled maintenance.
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It is the clients' responsibility to avoid becoming the target of mass emails (SPAM). MidAtlanticBroadBand attempts to block the most gross offenders, but is technically unable to block ALL such mailings.
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All clients are expected to be familiar with this AUP and to conform the guidelines it provides.
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This AUP identifies the actions that MidAtlanticBroadBand considers to be abusive, and thus, strictly prohibited. In addition to the other requirements of this AUP, Customer may only use MidAtlanticBroadBand's systems, services and products in a manner that, in the MidAtlanticBroadBand's sole judgement, is consistent with the purposes of such systems, services and products. If a customer is unsure whether a contemplated use or action is permitted under the AUP, the customer should e-mail MidAtlanticBroadBand with a description of the proposed use at admin@midatlanticbb.com for a determination as to whether the use is permissible under this AUP. The examples identified in the subsections below are non-exclusive and are provided, in part, for guidance purposes.
The following uses of MidAtlanticBroadBand's systems, services and products as described below are expressly prohibited:
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Transmitting on or through any of MidAtlanticBroadBand's systems, services, or products any material that is, in MidAtlanticBroadBand's sole discretion, unlawful, obscene, threatening, abusive, libelous, or hateful, or encourages conduct that may constitute a criminal offense, may give rise to civil liability, or otherwise may violate any local, state, national or international law.
Because of the global nature of the Internet, it is impossible to always satisfy the legal standards of every locale. By using MidAtlanticBroadBand's systems, you therefore agree to abide by the laws of our own state and country, the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States of America. In addition, you agree and consent that should you ever take legal action against us, the courts of MidAtlanticBroadBand's own state, Virginia, will have exclusive jurisdiction over any such legal action.
Illegal activities, under the jurisdiction described above, will result in immediate termination of service upon our discovery of said activities. The responsibility for knowledge of applicable laws, including those of other jurisdictions, is strictly your own.
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Violations of the rights of any Person protected by copyright, trade secret, patent or other intellectual property or similar laws or regulations.
In accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act [Public Law 105-304] (see also commentary), MidAtlanticBroadBand has a policy of terminating service to users who are repeat infringers of copyrights. This applies to users who post copyrighted materials and/or post links to sites known to contain copyrighted materials, without the copyright owners permission.
Additionally under the new law, we may remove any material we believe to be a copyright infringement before making reasonable efforts to contact the offending user.
The DMCA specifies that we must establish a Designated Agent to handle all claims by users and/or copyright owners regarding copyrighted materials on our servers. This agent is Willie Vereen Jr. who may be reached by writing to:
MidAtlanticBroadBand
ATTN: DMCA Violations
608 William Street
Fredericksburg VA, 22401
You may also contact this agent by telephone at (540) 659-9557 (during normal business hours), or email at admin@midatlanticbb.com.
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Actions that restrict or inhibit any Person, whether a customer of MidAtlanticBroadBand or otherwise, in its use or enjoyment of any of MidAtlanticBroadBand's systems, services or products.
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Resale of MidAtlanticBroadBand's services and products, without the prior written consent of MidAtlanticBroadBand. This includes, but is not limited to, the mass posting of newsgroup data obtained through MidAtlanticBroadBand on another online system.
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Deceptive on-line marketing practices.
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Furnishing false data on signup forms, contracts, or online applications, including fraudulent use of credit card numbers, as well as the use of fictious email addresses and/or domain names, the falsification of IP and/or routing information, or other attempts to mask or alter your identity.
Such conduct is grounds for immediate termination and may subject the offender to civil or criminal liability.
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Attempting to circumvent user authentication or security of any host, network, or account ("cracking"). This includes, but is not limited to, accessing data not intended for the customer, logging into a server or account the customer is not expressly authorized to access, or probing the security of other networks (such as running a SATAN scan or similar tool).
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Effecting security breaches or disruptions of Internet communications. Security breaches include, but are not limited to, accessing data of which customer is not an intended recipient or logging onto a server or account that customer is not expressly authorized to access. For purposes of this section, "disruption" includes, but is not limited to, port scans, ping floods, packet spoofing, forged routing information, deliberate attempts to overload a service, attempts to "crash" a host, and any other so-called "denial of service" attacks.
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Using any program/script/command, or sending messages of any kind, designed to interfere with a user's terminal session, by any means, locally or by the Internet.
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Executing any form of network monitoring which will intercept data not intended for Customer.
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All users must abide by all state, federal, and international laws regarding the use of electronic mail, Specifically those laid out in Title 18.2-152 of the Code of Virginia.
This Act redefines "computer services" to include electronic mail or electronic message services of an electronic mail service provider. The bill also adds the following to the list of those acts constituting use without authority or computer trespass:
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Using the services of an electronic mail service provider in contravention of the authority granted by or in violation of the policies set by the electronic mail service provider
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Falsifying e-mail transmission information in connection with the transmission of unsolicited bulk e-mail
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Selling, distributing, or operating software which makes possible the transmission of false e-mail with the intent to facilitate the transmission of false e-mail (ie "spamware").
Bulk e-mail may be sent only to recipients who have expressly requested receipt of such e-mail. Users that send solicited bulk e-mail are required to maintain records of all bulk e-mail subscription requests, and to provide MidAtlanticBroadBand with such records upon request of MidAtlanticBroadBand, to enable MidAtlanticBroadBand to investigate complaints from third parties. The sender of any solicited bulk e-mail shall, upon request of a recipient, immediately remove such recipient from all applicable lists and refrain from further transmissions of e-mail to such recipient.
Use of any auto-responder messages, mailing lists, or any other programs or scripts run by a user to handle or re-distribute e-mail is the sole responsibility of the user, and shall be operated in a reasonable manner. This responsibility includes, but is not limited to, maintaining up-to-date mailing lists to minimize mail bouncing and to facilitate the processing of removal requests, configuring auto-responders so that they do not create mail loops, and the prompt handling of any complaints regarding UBE/UCE re-distributed through a mailing list onsite.
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Harassment, whether through language, frequency, or size of messages, is prohibited.
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Creating or forwarding "chain letters" or other "pyramid schemes" of any type, whether or not the recipient wishes to receive such mailings.
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Malicious e-mail, including, but not limited to, "mailbombing" (flooding a user or site with very large or numerous pieces of e-mail).
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Use of unsolicited e-mail originating from the MidAtlanticBroadBand network or networks of other Internet Service Providers on behalf of, or to advertise any service hosted by MidAtlanticBroadBand, or connected via the MidAtlanticBroadBand network.
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Willful failure to secure open SMTP ports so as to prevent the unauthorized use of customer resources for the purposes of sending unsolicited e-mail by a third party (third party relaying).
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Posting the same or similar messages to large numbers of Usenet newsgroup ("Newsgroup spams or USENET spam").
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Posting chain letters of any type.
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Posting encoded binary files to newsgroups not specifically named for that purpose.
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Cancellation or superseding of posts other than your own, with the exception of official newsgroup moderators performing their duties.
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Forging of header information. This includes attempting to circumvent the approval process for posting to a moderated newsgroup.
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Solicitations of mail for any other e-mail address other than that of the poster's account or service, with intent to harass or to collect replies.
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Postings that are in violation of the written charters or FAQ's for those newsgroups.
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Posting of Usenet articles from the MidAtlanticBroadBand network or networks of other Internet Service Providers on behalf of, or to advertise any service hosted by MidAtlanticBroadBand, or connected via the MidAtlanticBroadBand network.
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Advertisements posted in newsgroups whose chargers/FAQ's explicitly prohibit them. The poster of an advertisement or other information is responsible for determining the etiquette of a given newsgroup, prior to posting to it.
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Multiple simultaneous logins
Unless otherwise specifically contracted, all access accounts are for a single simultaneous connection, and cannot be used by more than 1 (one) user or device at a time. Please contact our sales department for information on allowable simultaneous logins.
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Bandwidth/Port Abuse
Willful use of access ports other than those assigned to your account or bandwidth beyond that which you have contracted to use. This includes, but is not limited to, use of non-dedicated ports for more than 50% of a 24-hour period.
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Complaints concerning system abuse may be submitted several ways:
- FAX:
(540) 373-9077
ATTN: Policy Review Board
- US Mail:
MidAtlanticBroadBand
ATTN: Policy Review Board
608 William Street
Fredericksburg, Virginia 22401
- EMail:
Complaints will also be accepted via e-mail, at abuse@MidAtlanticBB.com provided that a valid return address is included.
MidAtlanticBroadBand must be able to independently verify each instance of abuse, and so each complaint must include the COMPLETE TEXT OF THE OBJECTIONAL MESSAGE, INCLUDING ALL HEADERS. Please do NOT send excerpted parts of a message; sending a copy of the entire message, including headers, helps to prevent misunderstandings based on incomplete information, or information used out of context. Full headers demonstrate which path the message has taken, and enable us to determine whether any part of the message has been forged. This information is vital to our investigation.
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MidAtlanticBroadBand may, in its sole discretion, suspend or terminate a customer's service for violation of any part of this AUP at any time and without warning. As a general matter, MidAtlanticBroadBand attempts to work with customers to cure violations and to ensure that there is no re-occurrence of the violation prior to terminating service.
Accounts affected in this way remain responsible for the terms and conditions of their respective contracts.
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In no event will MidAtlanticBroadBand be liable to any customer or third party for any direct, indirect, special or other consequential damages for actions taken pursuant to this AUP, including, but not limited to, any lost profits, business interruption, loss of programs or other data, or otherwise, even if MidAtlanticBroadBand was advised of the possibility of such damages.
In addition, you agree to defend and indemnify us and hold us harmless from and against any and all claims, proceedings, damages, injuries, liabilities, losses, costs and expenses (including reasonable attorney's fees) relating to any acts by you or materials or information transmitted by you in connection with MidAtlanticBroadBand's system leading wholly or partially to claims against us or our system by other users or third parties.
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Please be aware that any information you submit via ANY electronic medium (email, news, etc) is NOT confidential and could be observed by a third party while in transit. MidAtlanticBroadBand explicitly does NOT monitor customer data in transit to and from other domains, however, we cannot vouch for the policies or practices of systems outside MidAtlanticBroadBand's domain.
Services donated (ie not charged) to groups or individuals by MidAtlanticBroadBand may be subject to supervisory monitoring to ensure consistency with their intended use(s). Additionally, be advised that like any Americans, MidAtlanticBroadBand is subject to court rulings and/or warrants regarding all communications passing through our network(s).
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MidAtlanticBroadBand retains the right to modify the AUP at any time and any such modification shall be automatically effective to all customers when adopted by MidAtlanticBroadBand.
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The actions listed herein are also not permitted from other Internet Service Providers. Deceptive marketing, as defined by the Federal Trade Commission Deception Policy Statement, is not permitted through the MidAtlanticBroadBand services or network. These rules apply to other types of Internet-based distribution mediums as well, such as RLG's Ariel system (a system for sending FAX-like documents over the Internet).
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MidAtlanticBroadBand is not responsible for the content of any USENET posting, email, or web site created by a customer of MidAtlanticBroadBand or any third party.
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Editorial control is limited on MidAtlanticBroadBand's part to material published on our own online services. All such postings become the express property of MidAtlanticBroadBand.
At its sole discretion, MidAtlanticBroadBand reserves the right to remove materials from its servers and to terminate internet access to customers that MidAtlanticBroadBand determines have violated this AUP.
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You will be charged a monthly fee for using our system. Substantial savings are available through yearly or multi-year contracts. MidAtlanticBroadBand's prices are subject to change, however all existing customers will be provided with at least 2 months advance notice. Please see our price schedule for up-to-date rates and availability.
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Normally, we do not provide printed billing to our customers. This policy reflects MidAtlanticBroadBand's deep commitment to providing our clients with the most economical, highest value service possible. It also illustrates MidAtlanticBroadBand's goal to minimize the impact of our activities on the environment. For those customers who MUST receive printed billing, statements can be generated for a small additional charge.
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Payments for all services are due on the first of the month.
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Payment may be made via cash, check, money order, or credit card. Credit card payments will be automatically billed on the first of each month. Payments may be mailed to:
MidAtlanticBroadBand
ATTN: Accounting Dept.
608 William Street
Fredericksburg, Virginia 22401
For your convenience, we have also provided a drop box at our front door.
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Unpaid accounts may be placed on hold on or after the 15th of the month. Returned checks and refused credit constitute nonpayment. There will be a $25.00 service charge on all returned checks. Held accounts may be subject to a $19.95 reactivation fee.
Accounts held on two or more successive months may be required to renew their service via an annual or quarterly plan.
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We reserve the right to refuse service upon being made aware of illegal activities and/or other breeches of this contract.
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