Acceptable Use Policy

Effective Date: May, 2025

Summary 

This Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) details the permissible and prohibited uses of SmartHost’s hosting, domain, email, and related digital infrastructure services. It is designed to safeguard the integrity, security, and performance of the SmartHost network and systems, protect customers, and ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations, particularly within the European Economic Area (EEA) and under GDPR. This AUP complements and is integral to the SmartHost Terms and Conditions of Service (T&Cs), Privacy Policy, and Billing Policy. Adherence to this policy is mandatory for maintaining a secure, reliable, and fair service environment for all users.

1. Introduction to the SmartHost Acceptable Use Policy

1.1. Purpose and Scope

This Acceptable Use Policy (“AUP”) defines the acceptable and prohibited conduct for all users (“Customers” or “Users”) when accessing or utilizing any services provided by SmartHost Web Services Limited (“SmartHost”). These services include, but are not limited to, web hosting (shared and Virtual Private Servers), domain name registration, email services, and SSL certificates. The primary objective of this AUP is to ensure the security, stability, and integrity of SmartHost’s network, systems, and services; protect SmartHost and its customers from illegal, harmful, or abusive activities; promote responsible and lawful use of digital resources; and ensure compliance with all applicable local, national, and international laws and regulations, particularly those pertaining to data protection (e.g., GDPR), intellectual property, and cybersecurity within the European Union. 

This AUP is explicitly incorporated into SmartHost’s Terms and Conditions of Service (T&Cs) as a separate, binding policy. 

1.2. Acceptance of Policy and Binding Nature

By accessing, using, or purchasing any of SmartHost’s Services, users unequivocally agree to comply with and be bound by this AUP. This agreement is in addition to the SmartHost Terms and Conditions of Service, Privacy Policy, and Billing Policy. A user’s continued engagement with SmartHost’s Services constitutes their acceptance of this AUP. If any part of this AUP is unacceptable to a user, they must refrain from using the Services. 

1.3. Relationship to Other SmartHost Policies 

This AUP operates as an integral part of the agreement between the user and SmartHost and must be interpreted in conjunction with other foundational documents, all of which are readily available on the SmartHost Website. These include: 

• Terms and Conditions of Service (T&Cs): The overarching agreement governing the use of SmartHost’s Services. 

• Privacy Policy: Details how SmartHost collects, utilises, stores, and protects personal data. 

• Billing Policy: Outlines payment terms, billing cycles, and refund policies. 

• Data Processing Addendum (DPA): A mandatory agreement for business customers who process third-party personal data. 

• Service Level Agreement (SLA): Provides specific uptime guarantees and outlines compensation mechanisms. AUP violations may void these SLA guarantees. 

• Domain Registration Policy: Contains specific terms related to domain name registration. Users retain full ownership and control of their registered domain names, subject to applicable domain name registry and ICANN policies. 

1.4. Definitions 

For the purposes of this Acceptable Use Policy, the definitions provided in the SmartHost Terms and Conditions of Service shall apply. Additionally, the following terms are defined for clarity: 

• Content: Any data, text, software, scripts, graphics, photos, sounds, music, videos, interactive features, or other materials uploaded, stored, transmitted, or displayed through the Services. 

• Malicious Activity: Any action or content intended to harm, disrupt, or gain unauthorised access to systems, networks, or data. This includes, but is not limited to, malware, viruses, phishing, and denial-of-service attacks. 

• Spam: Unsolicited bulk email or any other form of unsolicited electronic communication, including commercial advertising and informational announcements. 

• Resource Abuse: Excessive or inappropriate consumption of system resources (e.g., CPU, memory, bandwidth, inodes) that negatively impacts the performance or stability of SmartHost’s services or shared environments. 

 

2. Prohibited Uses and Activities

This section details activities and content that are strictly forbidden on SmartHost’s Services. Any violation of these prohibitions may lead to immediate action, including suspension or termination of services, and may result in administrative fees. 

2.1. Illegal and Unlawful Conduct 

Users are permitted to use SmartHost’s Services solely for lawful purposes. Any use of the Services in a manner that breaches applicable laws or regulations is strictly prohibited. This encompasses, but is not limited to: 

• Breaches of Law: Any activity that violates local, national, or international laws or regulations, including those concerning fraud, anti-corruption, trade sanctions, export-control, and data privacy, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). 

• Fraudulent Activities: Engaging in any conduct that is unlawful or fraudulent, or has an unlawful or fraudulent purpose or effect. 

• Promotion of Illegal Activity: Promoting or facilitating any illegal activity, including, but not limited to, the sale of illegal goods or services, illegal gambling, or the dissemination of illegal content. 

• Deceptive Practices: Engaging in phishing, pharming, or other deceptive practices designed to trick users into revealing personal information or installing malicious software. 

• Harm to Minors: Any activity that harms or attempts to harm minors, including the distribution of child sexual abuse material. 

2.2. Harmful, Abusive, or Offensive Content 

Content hosted or transmitted through SmartHost’s Services must adhere to widely accepted community standards and legal norms. Prohibited content includes, but is not limited to: 

• Defamatory or Offensive Material: Content that is defamatory, obscene, offensive, hateful, or inflammatory, or that is likely to deceive, harass, upset, embarrass, alarm, annoy, or cause needless anxiety to any person. 

• Pornographic Material: This category includes sexually explicit content, particularly that which is sexually exploitative of children or promotes bestiality or non-consensual sex acts. 

• Promotion of Violence or Discrimination: Content that promotes violence, discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, or age, or that advocates for bigotry, racism, hatred, harassment, prostitution, or human trafficking. 

• Content in Breach of Legal Duty: Material created or disseminated in violation of any legal duty owed to a third party, such as a contractual obligation or a duty of confidence. 

• Impersonation: Using the Services to impersonate any person, misrepresent one’s identity or affiliation, or create the impression that content originates from SmartHost when it does not. 

2.3. Intellectual Property Infringement 

Users are strictly prohibited from uploading, storing, transmitting, or distributing any Content that infringes upon the intellectual property rights of third parties. This prohibition encompasses, but is not limited to: 

• Copyright Infringement: Unauthorised distribution of copyrighted material, such as music, movies, software, or pirated content. 

• Trademark Infringement: Unauthorised use of trademarks belonging to others. 

• Misappropriation of Trade Secrets: Unauthorised disclosure or use of trade secrets or confidential information. 

• Violation of Other Proprietary Rights: Infringement of any other proprietary rights, privacy rights, or contractual or statutory rights of any individual or legal entity. 

2.4. Security Violations and Malicious Activity 

Users are strictly prohibited from engaging in any activity that compromises the security, integrity, or availability of any network, computer system, software application, or computing device, whether owned by SmartHost, its customers, or third parties. Prohibited activities include, but are not limited to: 

• Unauthorised Access: Attempting to probe, scan, test the vulnerability of, or gain unauthorised access to any system, network, or data. This includes bypassing security measures or authentication protocols. 

• Malware Distribution: Hosting, uploading, transmitting, or distributing any harmful content, including viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time bombs, spyware, malware, or any other malicious code or programs. 

• Insecure Scripts: Hosting or running known insecure or outdated scripts (e.g., vulnerable web application scripts) that could compromise server security. 

• Denial of Service (DoS/DDoS) Attacks: Deliberately overwhelming a target system with communication requests to prevent legitimate traffic or render the system ineffective. 

• Intentional Interference: Disrupting the proper functioning of any system, including activities such as mail bombing, news bombing, broadcast attacks, or flooding techniques. 

• Interception or Monitoring: Monitoring data or traffic on any system without explicit permission. 

• Falsification of Origin: Forging TCP-IP packet headers, email headers, or any part of a message describing its origin or route to misrepresent its identity and source. 

• Avoiding System Restrictions: Employing manual or electronic means to circumvent any use limitations imposed on a system, such as access and storage restrictions. 

2.5. Spam and Unsolicited Communications 

SmartHost maintains a strict zero-tolerance policy against the sending of unsolicited bulk email (spam) and any other form of unsolicited electronic communication. Prohibited activities include, but are not limited to: 

• Sending Unsolicited Bulk Email (UBE) or Unsolicited Commercial Email (UCE): This includes sending such communications through SmartHost’s servers or any network connected to SmartHost. 

• Mass Mailing Without Consent: Using SmartHost’s servers for mass mailing or mailing lists without explicit, verifiable consent from all recipients. 

• Spamvertising: Hosting websites that are advertised via spam. 

• Collecting Replies from Violating Messages: Collecting replies to messages sent from another internet service provider if those messages violate this AUP or the acceptable use policy of that provider. 

• Mail Header Manipulation: Altering or obscuring mail headers or assuming a sender’s identity without the sender’s explicit permission. 

• Operating Open Mail Relays: Running mail servers configured to relay email for third parties without proper authentication. 

• Prohibited Email Scripts: Using push-button mail scripts or anonymous/bulk SMS gateways. 

2.6. Resource Abuse and Excessive Consumption 

To ensure fair resource allocation and optimal performance for all customers, the use of SmartHost’s Services is subject to specific resource limits and a fair use policy. Prohibited resource-intensive activities include, but are not limited to: 

• Exceeding Shared Hosting Resource Limits: This includes limitations on CPU usage (e.g., 25% of one core), RAM (e.g., 512MB), inode count (e.g., 250,000 for Linux, 500,000 for Windows), database size (e.g., 1GB per database), Website connections, active processes, and disk I/O. 

• “Unlimited” Plans Fair Use: While “unlimited” plans may not have a hard cap on bandwidth or disk space, usage that risks the stability or performance of shared servers is prohibited. Such usage is generally not intended for large media repositories, extensive file sharing, or other highly resource-intensive operations unsuitable for shared environments. 

• Prohibited Resource-Intensive Scripts/Activities:  

• • Image hosting scripts designed for anonymous uploads. 

• • File dump/mirror scripts. 

• • Commercial audio streaming beyond reasonable limits (e.g., one or two streams). 

• • Bittorrent trackers or any participation in file-sharing/peer-to-peer activities. 

• • Any script or activity that causes a degradation in the performance of SmartHost’s server or network environment. 

• • Running gaming servers. 

• • Running any software that interfaces with an Internet Relay Chat (IRC) network. 

• • Giving away web space under a domain (e.g., reselling without a proper reseller plan). 

• • Using the Services for cryptocurrency mining activity. 

• Database Limits: MySQL databases are subject to limits, such as a maximum size (e.g., 1024MB), and a maximum number of tables (e.g., 1,000 tables per database) and storage (e.g., one gigabyte per database). 

2.7. Prohibited Applications and Services 

Certain applications and services are either fundamentally incompatible with SmartHost’s infrastructure or are prohibited due to security, resource, or legal concerns. These include, but are not limited to: 

• Internet Relay Chat (IRC) servers or clients. 

• Bittorrent applications, trackers, or clients, and any participation in file-sharing/peer-to-peer activities. 

• Cryptocurrency mining applications. 

• Gaming servers. 

• Open proxies, open mail relays, or open recursive domain name servers. 

• Image hosting scripts for anonymous uploads or file dump/mirror scripts not directly serving a website’s content. 

• Any script that causes a degradation in the performance of SmartHost’s server or network environment. 

• Shell access or virtual server access used for running continuous server processes (e.g., IRC bouncers) or for general re-selling of web space that is not part of a dedicated reseller plan. 

 

3. User Responsibilities

As a user of SmartHost’s Services, specific responsibilities are incumbent upon each individual to ensure compliance with this AUP and to contribute to a secure and stable online environment. 

3.1. Content Compliance and Management 

Users bear sole and full responsibility for the Content they upload, store, or transmit through SmartHost’s Services. This responsibility includes ensuring that Content: 

• AUP Compliance: Adheres to all aspects of this AUP, particularly the prohibitions outlined in Section 2. 

• Legal and Regulatory Adherence: Complies with all applicable laws and regulations, including those related to data privacy and intellectual property. 

• Web-Visible Content: Is visible and accessible to end-users visiting the website, unless it is a necessary operational component (e.g., system files). SmartHost reserves the right to delete files or directories that are not web-visible without notice if they are deemed to be used for prohibited file storage. 

• Backup Restrictions: Does not contain backups of content from a computer or website unless explicitly allowed by the service plan; for instance, Virtual Private Server (VPS) users are solely responsible for their own backups. 

3.2. Account Security and Breach Notification 

Users are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality and security of their Account login credentials, including usernames, passwords, and any API keys. Users must: 

• Strong Passwords and 2FA: Employ strong, unique passwords and enable two-factor authentication (2FA) wherever available for enhanced security. 

• Prompt Notification: Immediately notify SmartHost of any suspected unauthorised access to their Account, any security breaches, or any misuse of their services. 

• User Compliance: Ensure that any authorised users of their account comply with all terms of this AUP and acknowledge that the primary account holder remains responsible and liable for the actions and omissions of these users. 

• Cooperation in Mitigation: Cooperate with SmartHost to promptly isolate, mitigate, and eliminate any Malicious Activity originating from their account. 

3.3. Data Backup Obligations 

While SmartHost may provide courtesy daily backups for some services, such as Shared Hosting, these are offered without warranty. Users remain solely responsible for maintaining their own independent backups of their Content. For Virtual Private Server (VPS) environments, SmartHost generally does not provide backups, and users are solely responsible for implementing and maintaining their own data backup strategy, unless a specific backup service is purchased as an add-on. 

For any backup services, whether courtesy or paid add-ons, SmartHost does not guarantee that backups will be free from errors, complete, or that all data will be recoverable. Customers are ultimately responsible for ensuring they have robust and independently verified data backups. 

• Data Migration Post-Termination: Upon termination of Services, it is the user’s sole responsibility to migrate or back up their data prior to the cessation of Services. 

3.4. Cooperation with SmartHost Investigations 

Users agree to cooperate fully with SmartHost during any investigation into suspected violations of this AUP. This cooperation includes, but is not limited to, providing reasonably requested information, taking prompt corrective action to resolve identified issues, and assisting in the isolation and mitigation of any malicious activity originating from their account.

4. Enforcement and Consequences of Violations

SmartHost reserves the right to determine, acting reasonably and in good faith, what constitutes a violation of this AUP. SmartHost will take appropriate action against any account found to be in violation. 

4.1. Monitoring and Investigation Procedures 

SmartHost reserves the right to monitor resource consumption and network traffic to ensure compliance with this AUP and to detect and prevent illegal, malicious, or harmful activities. 

• Scope of Monitoring: Monitoring may include, but is not limited to, reviewing server log files, analysing resource usage, and inspecting content for prohibited material. 

• Investigation Process: In the event of a suspected violation, SmartHost may conduct an investigation, which may involve requesting information from the customer. 

• Complaint Handling: All complaints received by SmartHost regarding abuse activity will be handled in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. 

4.2. Actions for Non-Compliance 

Upon determining a violation of this AUP, SmartHost may, at its sole discretion, take one or more of the following actions: 

• Issuance of a Warning: A formal notification to the customer outlining the violation and requiring corrective action within a specified timeframe. 

• Immediate, Temporary, or Permanent Removal of Content: Deletion of any material uploaded to SmartHost’s servers that violates the AUP. 

• Immediate, Temporary, or Permanent Suspension of Services: Restriction of access to all or part of the Services, including the customer’s account, website, or email services. This may occur without prior notice for severe violations. 

• Termination of Services: Permanent cessation of all services, leading to account closure and data deletion. 

• Requirement for Changes: SmartHost reserves the right to require changes or disable any website, account, database, or component that does not comply with this policy. 

• Data Deletion Post-Termination: Upon termination, SmartHost’s data deletion policies will apply, as specified in its Privacy Policy, with data generally deleted within 90 days following cessation of services. Users are solely responsible for backing up their data prior to the cessation of services. 

4.3. Administrative Fees and Charges for Violations 

In addition to suspension or termination, SmartHost reserves the right to levy administrative fees and charges for certain AUP violations, particularly those requiring significant intervention or causing financial harm to SmartHost or its reputation. These may include, but are not limited to: 

• Fees for Resource Overages: Charges for excessive resource usage or repeated unsuspensions. 

• Cleanup Fees: Charges incurred for blacklist removal due to spamming. 

• Malware Removal Fees: Charges for malware elimination if the customer fails to remove it promptly. 

• Reimbursement of Costs: Legal proceedings against the user for reimbursement of all costs on an indemnity basis (including administrative and legal costs) resulting from the breach. 

• Fines: Specific fines and administrative fees as detailed in the AUP and Billing Policy for particular violations (e.g., spamming). 

4.4. Reporting Abuse to SmartHost 

If any user has concerns about content or activity hosted on SmartHost’s Services that they believe violates this AUP, they are encouraged to report it to SmartHost. 

• Reporting Method: Reports should be submitted via email to management@smarthost.ie. 

• Required Information: Reports must include references to specific pages, links, images, or statements that are in violation of this AUP. Providing as much detail as possible is crucial to enable a thorough investigation. 

• Good Practice Guidelines: Users are encouraged to follow applicable good practice guidelines and standards when submitting abuse reports. 

4.5. Legal Recourse and Disclosure to Authorities 

In the event of a violation, SmartHost reserves the right to pursue legal avenues and cooperate with authorities. This includes: 

• Legal Proceedings: Initiating legal proceedings against the offending user for reimbursement of all costs on an indemnity basis (including, but not limited to, reasonable administrative and legal costs) resulting from the breach. 

• Further Legal Action: Pursuing any further legal action deemed necessary. 

• Disclosure to Law Enforcement: Disclosing relevant information to law enforcement authorities as SmartHost reasonably deems necessary or as required by law. This includes full cooperation with legal requests and adherence to all legal obligations. 

 

 5. Policy Review and Contact Information

5.1. Amendments to the AUP 

SmartHost reserves the right to update or modify this AUP periodically to reflect changes in law, its business practices, or data processing activities. SmartHost commits to providing reasonable notice for significant changes (e.g., 15-30 days) via email or a prominent notice on its Website. A user’s continued use of Services after such notice constitutes their acceptance of the updated AUP. 

5.2. Contact Information for AUP Queries 

For any questions or concerns regarding this Acceptable Use Policy, or to report a suspected violation, users are encouraged to contact SmartHost using the following dedicated channels: 

• Email for Abuse Reports: management@smarthost.ie 

• General Enquiries Email: support@smarthost.ie 

• Phone: +353 (0)1 901 9700 

• Website: www.smarthost.ie