Softcom Acceptable Use Policy

This Acceptable Use Policy (the “Policy”) outlines acceptable use of the internet service (the “Service”). This Policy is in addition to any restrictions or conditions contained in the Terms of Service Agreement (the “Agreement”) available at www.softcom.net.

All Softcom customers (the “customer,” “user,” “you,” or “your”) and all others who use the Service must comply with this Policy. Your failure, or others’ failure, to comply with this Policy could result in the suspension or termination of your or their Service accounts. Therefore, you should take steps to ensure that others you permit to use the Service are aware of this Policy and agree to abide by it. If you are unwilling to comply with this Policy, you must immediately stop all use of the Service and notify Softcom so that it can close your account.

Portions of this agreement do not apply to customers who subscribe to Static IP Service or Point to Point Service. For additional information, please contact Softcom Customer Service.

I. Prohibited Uses and Activities

What uses and activities does Softcom prohibit?
In general, the Policy prohibits uses and activities involving the Service that are illegal, infringe the rights of others, or interfere with or diminish the use and enjoyment of the Service by others.

For example, these prohibited uses and activities include, but are not limited to, using the Service, Customer Equipment, or the Softcom Equipment, either individually or in combination with one another, to:

Conduct and information restrictions

• undertake or accomplish any unlawful purpose. This includes, but is not limited to, posting, storing, transmitting or disseminating information, data or material which is libelous, obscene, unlawful, threatening or defamatory, or which infringes the intellectual property rights of any person or entity, or which in any way constitutes or encourages conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, or otherwise violate any local, state, federal, or non-U.S. law, order, or regulation;
• post, store, send, transmit, or disseminate any information or material which a reasonable person could deem to be unlawful;
• upload, post, publish, transmit, reproduce, create derivative works of, or distribute in any way information, software or other material obtained through the Service or otherwise that is protected by copyright or other proprietary right, without obtaining any required permission of the owner;
• transmit unsolicited bulk or commercial messages commonly known as “spam;”
• send very large numbers of copies of the same or substantially similar messages, empty messages, or messages which contain no substantive content, or send very large messages or files that disrupts a server, account, blog, newsgroup, chat, or similar service;
• initiate, perpetuate, or in any way participate in any pyramid or other illegal scheme;
• participate in the collection of very large numbers of email addresses, screen names, or other identifiers of others (without their prior consent);
• collect responses from unsolicited bulk messages;
• falsify, alter, or remove message headers;
• falsify references to Softcom or its network, by name or other identifier, in messages;
• impersonate any person or entity, engage in sender address falsification, forge anyone else’s digital or manual signature, or perform any other similar fraudulent activity (for example, “phishing”);
• violate the rules, regulations, terms of service, or policies applicable to any network, server, computer database, service, application, system, or web site that you access or use;

Technical restrictions

• access any other person’s computer or computer system, network, software, or data without his or her knowledge and consent; breach the security of another user or system; or attempt to circumvent the user authentication or security of any host, network, or account. This includes, but is not limited to, accessing data not intended for you, logging into or making use of a server or account you are not expressly authorized to access, or probing the security of other hosts, networks, or accounts without express permission to do so;
• use or distribute tools or devices designed or used for compromising security or whose use is otherwise unauthorized, such as password guessing programs, decoders, password gatherers, keystroke loggers, analyzers, cracking tools, packet sniffers, encryption circumvention devices, or Trojan Horse programs.
• port scanning;
• distribute programs that make unauthorized changes to software (cracks);
• use or run dedicated, stand-alone equipment or servers from the Premises that provide network content or any other services to anyone outside of your Premises local area network (“Premises LAN”), also commonly referred to as public services or servers. Examples of prohibited equipment and servers include, but are not limited to, email, web hosting, file sharing, and proxy services and servers;
• use or run programs from the Premises that provide network content or any other services to anyone outside of your Premises LAN, except for personal and non-commercial residential use;
• service, alter, modify, or tamper with the Softcom Equipment or Service or permit any other person to do the same who is not authorized by Softcom;

Network and usage restrictions

• use the Service for operation as an internet service provider;
• restrict, inhibit, or otherwise interfere, regardless of intent, purpose or knowledge, with the ability of any other person to use or enjoy the Service (except for tools for safety and security functions such as parental controls, for example), including, without limitation, posting or transmitting any information or software which contains a worm, virus, or other harmful feature, or
• impede others’ ability to use, send, or retrieve information;
• restrict, inhibit, interfere with, or otherwise disrupt or cause a performance degradation, regardless of intent, purpose or knowledge, to the Service or any Softcom (or Softcom supplier) host, server, backbone network, node or service, or otherwise cause a performance degradation to any Softcom (or Softcom supplier) facilities used to deliver the Service;
• resell the Service or otherwise make available to anyone outside the Premises the ability to use the Service (for example, through Wi-Fi or other methods of networking) without the express consent of Softcom;
• connect the Softcom Equipment to any computer outside of your Premises without the express consent of Softcom;
• interfere with computer networking or telecommunications service to any user, host or network, including, without limitation, denial of service attacks, flooding of a network, overloading a service, improper seizing and abusing operator privileges, and attempts to “crash” a host; or
• access and use the Service with anything other than a dynamic internet Protocol (“IP”) address that adheres to the Point to Point over Ethernet (“PPPoE”) or dynamic host configuration protocol (“DHCP”). You may not configure the Service or any related equipment to access or use a static IP address or use any protocol other than DHCP unless you are subject to a Service plan that expressly permits you to do so.

II. Customer Conduct and Features of the Service

What obligations do I have under this Policy?
You are responsible for your own compliance with this Policy. You are also responsible for any use or misuse of the Service that violates this Policy by anyone else you permit to access the Service (such as a friend, family member, or guest).

In all cases, you are solely responsible for the security of any device you connect to the Service, including any data stored or shared on that device. It is also your responsibility to secure the Customer Equipment and any other Premises equipment or programs not provided by Softcom that connect to the Service from external threats such as viruses, spam, bot nets, and other methods of intrusion.

How does Softcom address inappropriate content and transmissions?
Softcom reserves the right to refuse to transmit or post, and to remove or block, any information or materials, in whole or in part, that it, in its sole discretion, deems to be in violation of Sections I or II of this Policy, or otherwise harmful to Softcom’s network or customers using the Service, regardless of whether this material or its dissemination is unlawful so long as it violates this Policy. Neither Softcom nor any of its affiliates, suppliers, or agents have any obligation to monitor transmissions or postings (including, but not limited to, email, file transfer, blog, newsgroup, and instant message transmissions) made on the Service. However, Softcom and its affiliates, suppliers, and agents have the right to monitor these transmissions and postings from time to time for violations of this Policy and to disclose, block, or remove them in accordance with this Policy, the Subscriber Agreement, and applicable law.

What requirements apply to electronic mail?
The Service may not be used to communicate or distribute email or other forms of communications in violation of Section I of this Policy. As described below in Section III of this Policy, Softcom uses reasonable network management tools and techniques to protect customers from receiving spam and from sending spam (often without their knowledge over an infected computer).

Softcom is not responsible for deleting or forwarding any email sent to the wrong email address by you or by someone else trying to send email to you. Softcom is also not responsible for forwarding email sent to any account that has been suspended or terminated. This email will be returned to the sender, ignored, deleted, or stored temporarily at Softcom’s sole discretion. If you cancel or terminate your Service account for any reason, all email associated with that account (and any secondary accounts) will be permanently deleted as well.

If Softcom believes in its sole discretion that any account name or email address (collectively, an “identifier”) on the Service may be used for, or is being used for, any misleading, fraudulent, or other improper or illegal purpose, Softcom (i) reserves the right to block access to and prevent the use of any of these identifiers and (ii) may at any time require any customer to change his or her identifier. In addition, Softcom may at any time reserve any identifiers on the Service for its own purposes.

What requirements apply to instant, video, and audio messages?
Each user is responsible for the contents of his or her instant, video, and audio messages and the consequences of any of these messages. Softcom assumes no responsibility for the timeliness, deletion, or failure to store these messages. If you cancel or terminate your Service account for any reason, all instant, video, and audio messages associated with that account (and any secondary accounts) will be permanently deleted as well.

III. Network Management

Why does Softcom manage its network?
Softcom manages its network with one goal: to deliver the best possible experience to all of its customers. High-speed bandwidth and network resources are not unlimited. Managing the network is essential as Softcom works to promote the use and enjoyment of the internet by all of its customers. The company uses reasonable network management practices that are consistent with industry standards. Softcom tries to use tools and technologies that are minimally intrusive and, in its independent judgment guided by industry experience, among the best in class. Of course, the company’s network management practices will change and evolve along with the uses of the internet and the challenges and threats on the internet.

The need to engage in network management is not limited to Softcom. In fact, all internet service providers manage their networks. Many of them use the same or similar tools that Softcom does. If the company didn’t manage its network, its customers would be subject to the negative effects of spam, viruses, security attacks, network congestion, and other risks and degradations of service. By engaging in responsible network management including enforcement of this Policy, Softcom can deliver the best possible internet experience to all of its customers.

How does Softcom manage its network?
Softcom uses various tools and techniques to manage its network, deliver the Service, and ensure compliance with this Policy and the Subscriber Agreement. These tools and techniques are dynamic, like the network and its usage, and can and do change frequently. For example, these network management activities may include (i) identifying spam and preventing its delivery to customer email accounts, (ii) detecting malicious internet traffic and preventing the distribution of viruses or other harmful code or content, (iii) temporarily lowering the priority of traffic for users who are the top contributors to current network congestion, and (iv) using other tools and techniques that Softcom may be required to implement in order to deliver the best possible internet experience to all of its customers.

Softcom’s management practices, tools, and techniques fully comply with the Reasonable Network Management provisions of the FCC Open Internet Order of March 12, 2015.

IV. Data Consumption

What data consumption requirements apply to the Service?
Softcom does not currently apply a monthly data consumption limit. However, Softcom retains the right to trial or adopt a data consumption threshold or other usage plan for the Service at any time.  If the company implements a consumption threshold or other usage plan, it will appropriately notify customers and, if necessary, post an updated version of this Policy.

V. Violation of this Acceptable Use Policy

What happens if you violate this Policy?
Softcom reserves the right immediately to suspend or terminate your Service account and terminate the Subscriber Agreement if you violate the terms of this Policy or the Subscriber Agreement, or if anyone else you permit to access the Service violates this Policy.

How does Softcom enforce this Policy?
Softcom does not routinely monitor the activity of individual Service accounts for violations of this Policy, except for determining aggregate data consumption in connection with Section IV of this Policy. However, in the company’s efforts to promote good citizenship within the internet community, it will respond appropriately if it becomes aware of inappropriate use of the Service. Softcom has no obligation to monitor the Service and/or the network. Softcom and its suppliers reserve the right at any time to monitor bandwidth, usage, transmissions, and content in order to, among other things, operate the Service; identify violations of this Policy; and/or protect the network, the Service and Softcom users.

Softcom prefers to inform customers of inappropriate activities and give them a reasonable period of time in which to take corrective action. Softcom also prefers to have customers directly resolve any disputes or disagreements they may have with others, whether customers or not, without Softcom’s intervention. However, if the Service is used in a way that Softcom or its suppliers, in their sole discretion, believe violates this Policy, Softcom or its suppliers may take any responsive actions they deem appropriate under the circumstances with or without notice. These actions include, but are not limited to, temporary or permanent removal of content, filtering of internet transmissions, and the immediate suspension or termination of all or any portion of the Service. Neither Softcom nor its affiliates, suppliers, or agents will have any liability for any of these responsive actions. These actions are not Softcom’s exclusive remedies and Softcom may take any other legal or technical actions it deems appropriate with or without notice.

Softcom reserves the right to investigate suspected violations of this Policy, including the gathering of information from the user or users involved and the complaining party, if any, and examination of material and data on Softcom’s servers and network. During an investigation, Softcom may suspend the account or accounts involved and/or remove or block material that potentially violates this Policy. You expressly authorize and consent to Softcom and its suppliers cooperating with (i) law enforcement authorities in the investigation of suspected legal violations, and (ii) and system administrators at other internet service providers or other network or computing facilities in order to enforce this Policy. Upon termination of your Service account, Softcom is authorized to delete any files, programs, data, email and other messages associated with your account (and any secondary accounts).