TERMS OF USE (CONT'D)
IN ADDITION, YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES IS SUBJECT TO THE THEN-CURRENT INTERCONNECT SERVICES, INC. TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SERVICE (SEE SECTION 7(a) BELOW) and any and all license agreements in connection with any software supplied to you by INTERCONNECT.
Please carefully read and review the terms and conditions of this Agreement before signing and/or using the equipment (AS DEFINED IN SECTION 3 BELOW) and/or THE Services. By signing and/or USING THE EQUIPMENT AND/OR THE SERVICES, you are becoming a party to and agree to be bound by this agreement. IN ADDITION, YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES IS SUBJECT TO THE THEN-CURRENT INTERCONNECT SERVICES, INC. TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SERVICE (SEE SECTION 7(a) BELOW) and any and all license agreements in connection with any software supplied to you by INTERCONNECT.
1. TELEPHONE SERVICE.
(a) TELEPHONE. The monthly charge for the Services covers those charges associated with INTERCONNECT providing a Data/Voice Circuit and ISP Services to Customer, and in no way changes or supersedes Customer's relationship with Customer’s existing provider of local or long-distance telephone service. Customer maintains responsibility for payment of bills for such telephone services to the appropriate carrier(s).
(b) UNDERLYING TELEPHONE SERVICE. Customer acknowledges that the Services are delivered over the existing telephone infrastructure. Customer shall remain responsible for charges for the Services regardless of the status of the underlying telephone service.
2. ACCESS AND AUTHORIZATION. If Customer chooses to have INTERCONNECT install the service (or is in an area where the self-install option is not available), Customer authorizes INTERCONNECT and/or its employees, agents, contractors and/or representatives to enter Customer’s premises in order to install, maintain, inspect, repair and/or remove the equipment necessary to provision the Data/Voice Circuit Circuit on Customer's premises . All such services will be conducted at a time mutually agreed to by INTERCONNECT and Customer. Customer authorizes INTERCONNECT to work with providers of telephone infrastructure to provision the Data/Voice Circuit to the location and/or address indicated below. Customer is responsible for cancellation of any previous Internet access service using the same infrastructure, if necessary.
3. EQUIPMENT PROVIDED. INTERCONNECT or its agent or contractor may provide Customer with equipment agreed upon by Customer and INTERCONNECT which is listed below.
4. INSTALLATION.
(a) COMPUTER EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENT. INTERCONNECT or its agent or contractor has provided Customer with materials and/or information, written or verbal, which set forth the minimum hardware and operating system requirements necessary to use the Services. Customer represents and agrees that Customer has reviewed and/or received those materials and/or information and that the computer/network/hardware to which the Data/Voice Circuit and ISP services will be connected to meets these minimum requirements. Further, Customer understands that he or she must possess original (or equivalent) media (CD, disk, etc.) and Administrative passwords/keys for the Operating System and/or any hardware (including but not limited to servers, routers, DSU's, gateway devices, firewalls and/or any necessary hardware or software) in order for connection and use of the Data/Voice Circuit circuit and ISP services to be successful.
(b) BACK-UP REQUIREMENTS. The installation, use, inspection, maintenance, repair and removal of the Equipment may result in service outage or potential damage to Customer’s computer(s), network, software and/or other network or connecting hardware. Customer acknowledges and agrees that Customer is solely responsible for backing-up all existing data or configuration files of any kink by copying them to another storage medium prior to connection of any equipment to the Data/Voice Circuit and/or ISP services and prior to any inspection, maintenance, repair or removal of the Data/Voice Circuit, ISP services or any equipment provided by INTERCONNECT. INTERCONNECT, its employees, agents, contractors and/or representatives shall have no liability whatsoever for any damage to or loss or destruction of any of Customer’s hardware, configuration(s), software, files, data or peripherals.
(c) ACCESS; FILE MODIFICATION. In order to install the Services and/or Equipment, it may be necessary to open and/or alter Customer’s computer(s), computer network, routers, gateway devices, firewalls and/or other hardware or their configurations. In addition, as part of the installation process , system files on Customer’s computer(s)/network/network hardware, such as .INI, .BAT, .SYS and .DLL files, may be modified or deleted. INTERCONNECT does not represent, warrant, nor covenant that such modifications or deletions will not disrupt the normal operations of Customer’s computer(s)/network/network hardware, and INTERCONNECT its employees, agents and/or contractors shall have no liability whatsoever for any damages resulting from the modifications or deletions.
5. FIXED LOCATION SERVICE. Customer acknowledges that this is a fixed-location service and may not be moved to a different physical location without payment of the dosconnect and/or new connection fees and the early cancellation charge, if applicable. If Customer moves location, Customer shall notify INTERCONNECT that this Agreement shall be terminated and the provisions of Section 12 (including Customer's obligations under Section 12(b)) shall apply to such termination. In all cases Customer shall notify INTERCONNECT as provided in Section 13.
6. PAYMENT TERMS.
(a) AGREEMENT TO PAY. Customer agrees to pay the monthly charges and other fees, including applicable taxes, for the Equipment and/or Services as established from time to time by INTERCONNECT. Current charges are to change as specified in Section 6(c) below.
(b) PAYMENT METHODS. Customer agrees to maintain a valid credit card on file with INTERCONNECT, against which charges can be made. Customer agrees to provide updated credit card information to INTERCONNECT in the event of expiration or cancellation of the card on file. In lieu of the above, Customer shall make arrangements with INTERCONNECT for payment of monthly charges by check or cash. All charges are due and payable and all services are rendered in Nueces County, Texas.
(c) PRICE CHANGES. Customer acknowledges and agrees that INTERCONNECT has the right to change its charges at any time subject to applicable law and upon notice to Customer after the initial contract period.
(d) CUSTOMER CHARGES. Customer acknowledges that Customer may incur charges while using the Services. For example, charges may be incurred as a result of accessing certain information, or purchasing or subscribing to certain offerings, via the Internet. Customer agrees that all charges, including all applicable taxes, shall be paid by Customer and are not the responsibility of INTERCONNECT.
7. USE OF THE SERVICES.
(a) OTHER AGREEMENTS. Customer acknowledges and agrees that the Services are for legal use only. UNLESS SPECIFICALLY AUTHORIZED FOR OTHER USE IN WRITING BY INTERCONNECT the Services are subject to the terms and conditions of INTERCONNECT’s Acceptable Use Policy (AUP). Said Acceptable Use Policy is subject to change from time to time by Interconnect without notice and the then current Acceptable Use Policy forms a part of this contract on a continual basis at the express consent of customer. The current AUP can be found linked from the INTERCONNECT’s Home Page located at http://www.interconnect.net on the World Wide Web. Any violation of the AUP, federal, state or local laws, ordinances, rules, regulations and/or statutes (whether criminal, civil or administrative) in connection with the use of the circuit and/or services constitutes a breach of this contract on the part of Customer and the services and/or circuit are subject to immediate disconnection at the sole discretion of Interconnect as to whether a violation has occurred. Disconnection and/or termination of the circuit and/or services by Interconnect based on default of payment or violations as described in this paragraph or elsewhere in this agreement or its attachments does not excuse Customer’s continued obligation to payment for the term of the contract.
(b) INAPPROPRIATE USE. Customer shall not use the Equipment or Services to directly or indirectly:
(i) Access any computer, software, data or any confidential, copyright protected or patent protected material of any other person, without the knowledge and consent of such person;
(ii) Upload, post, publish, transmit, reproduce, or distribute in any way, information, software or other material obtained through the Service which is protected by copyright, or other proprietary right or derivative works with respect thereto, without obtaining permission of the copyright owner or rightholder;
(iii) Copy, distribute or sublicense any software provided by INTERCONNECT, except that Customer may make one copy of each software program for back-up or archival purposes only;
(iv) Restrict, inhibit or otherwise interfere with the ability of any other person to use or enjoy the Equipment, the Services or the Internet;
(v) Disrupt the INTERCONNECT backbone network nodes or network services;
(vi) Resell the Services or use the Services for operation of an Internet Service Provider business or for any other business enterprise in competition with the Services; or
(vii) Use the Equipment or Services in a way which is contrary to the INTERCONNECT Appropriate Use Policy posted on the INTERCONNECT web site (www.interconnect.net).
Engaging in one or more of these activities may result in termination of the Agreement. This Section 7(b) shall not in any way limit INTERCONNECT’s rights of termination pursuant to Section 12 of this Agreement.
(c) NO INTERCONNECT LIABILITY FOR CONTENT. Customer acknowledges that there is content on the Internet or otherwise available through the Services which may be offensive, or which may not be in compliance with all local laws, regulations and other rules. For example, it is possible through the use of the Services to obtain access to content which is pornographic, obscene, or otherwise inappropriate or offensive, particularly for children and/or may contain viruses or other computer data that may disrupt and/or destroy computer data on Customers computers, network and/or hardware.. INTERCONNECT assumes no responsibility for and exercises no control over the content contained on the Internet or otherwise available through the Services. In particular and without limiting the generality of the foregoing, INTERCONNECT neither censors nor monitors the legality of any such content. All content accessed or received by Customer through the Services is accessed and used by Customer at Customer’s own risk, and INTERCONNECT its employees, agents, contractors and/or representatives shall have no liability whatsoever for any claims, losses, actions, damages, suits or proceedings arising out of or otherwise relating to the access to or the receipt of such content by Customer.
(d) INTERCONNECT CONTENT RIGHTS. INTERCONNECT has no obligation to monitor the Services content. However, Customer acknowledges and agrees the INTERCONNECT has the right to monitor content electronically from time to time and to disclose any information as necessary to satisfy any law, regulation or other governmental or law enforcement request, to operate the Services properly or to protect itself or its subscribers. INTERCONNECT reserves the right to post or to remove any information or materials, in whole or in part, that in its sole discretion, are unacceptable, undesirable, or in violation of this Agreement.
8. LIMITED WARRANTY. ALL EQUIPMENT AND/OR SERVICES ARE PROVIDED BY INTERCONNECT SERVICES, INC. "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. INTERCONNECT DOES NOT WARRANT UNINTERRUPTED USE OR OPERATION OF THE EQUIPMENT, CIRCUIT OR SERVICES. INTERCONNECT DOES NOT WARRANT THAT ANY DATA OR FILES SENT BY OR TO CUSTOMER WILL BE TRANSMITTED IN UNCORRUPTED FORM OR WITHIN A REASONABLE PERIOD OF TIME. ALL REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES, ENDORSEMENTS AND CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY WARRANTIES OF TITLE OR NONINFRINGMENT, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, MERCHANTABILITY AND THOSE ARISING FROM A COURSE OF DEALING OR USAGE OF TRADE, ARE HEREBY EXCLUDED AND TO THE EXTENT ANY SUCH WARRANTIES ARE NEVERTHELESS DEEMED GIVEN, CUSTOMER HEREBY WAIVES SAME.
Certain Equipment and/or services may be subject to third party warranties which may be passed through INTERCONNECT to Customer at no additional charge. INTERCONNECT will comply with all reasonable requirements necessary to effect the pass-through of the warranty, if any, to Customer. At its sole option, INTERCONNECT or its agent may replace defective equipment on behalf of the manufacturer, provided Customer follows all applicable procedures and obtains a Return Materials Authorization (RMA) number.
9. SPECIFIC RISKS FOR WHICH INTERCONNECT SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY.
(a) SECURITY BREACHES The Internet is a shared resource among many customers. Because of this, there is a risk that Customer could be subject to a variety of security breaches, including but not limited to eavesdropping, virus infection and denial of service attacks. This means that other people may be able to access, monitor and/or alter Customer’s files, data or other traffic sent or received using the Services, corrupt data or hardware and/or negatively affect Customer's ability to use the Services. Any information sent or received by Customer over the Services network is done so at Customer’s sole risk, and INTERCONNECT shall have no liability whatsoever for any claims, losses, actions, damages, suits or proceedings arising out of or otherwise relating to such actions by Customer.
(b) FTP/HTTP SERVER SETUP. Customer should also be aware that when using the computer to access the Internet or any other on-line network or service via the Services, there are certain applications, such as FTP (File Transfer Protocol) server and HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) server, which may be used to allow other Service users and Internet users to gain access to Customer’s computer. Customer is permitted to run such applications for Customer’s use and within the limitations of Section 7 of this Agreement, provided, however, that Customer acknowledges and agrees that if Customer chooses to run such applications, Customer shall take the appropriate security measures and that the risk of security breaches as described in Section 9(a) of this Agreement may be significantly increased. INTERCONNECT shall have no liability whatsoever for any claims, losses, actions, damages, suits or proceedings resulting from or arising out of or otherwise relating to the use of such applications by Customer, including, without limitation, damages resulting from other users accessing Customer’s computer.
10. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY. INTERCONNECT’s liability to Customer for direct damages shall be limited to a maximum of the fees paid by Customer to INTERCONNECT for the Services during the twelve (12) month period prior to the time when Customer’s claim for direct damages arose; provided, however, that INTERCONNECT shall have no liability whatsoever for any damage to, loss of, or destruction of any hardware, software, files or data or peripherals. In addition, INTERCONNECT will not be liable to Customer or to any third party for:
(a) any indirect, incidental, special, punitive or consequential losses or damages, including loss of profits, loss of earnings, loss of business opportunities and/or personal injuries (including death), resulting directly or indirectly out of, or otherwise arising in connection with, the use of the Services by Customer or any other use of the Equipment or Services, including without limitation, any damage resulting from or arising out of Customer’s reliance on or use of the Equipment or Services, or the mistakes, omission, interruptions, deletion of files, errors, defects, delays in operation, transmissions, or any failure of performance of the Equipment or Services; and
(b) any losses, claims, damages, expenses, liabilities or costs (including legal fees) resulting directly or indirectly out of, or otherwise arising in connection with, any allegation, claim, suit, or other proceeding based upon a claim that the use of the Equipment or Services by Customer or a third party infringes the copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret, confidentiality, privacy, or other industrial or intellectual property rights, proprietary rights or contractual rights of any third party.
The foregoing limitation applies to the acts, omissions, breach(es) of any kind, negligence and/or gross negligence of INTERCONNECT, its officers, employees, agents, contractors and/or representatives which, but for this provision, would give rise to the cause of action against INTERCONNECT SERVICES, INC. in contract, tort or any other legal doctrine. Customer’s sole and exclusive remedies under this Agreement are as expressly set out in this Agreement.
11. AMENDMENT OF THIS AGREEMENT. INTERCONNECT may, in its sole discretion, change, modify, add or remove portions of this Agreement at anytime. INTERCONNECT will provide notice of such changes to this Agreement to Customer by posting to INTERCONNECT’s homepage located at www.interconnect.net, electronic mail and/or postal mail. Customer’s continued use of the Service following notice of such change, modification or advancement shall be deemed to be Customer’s acceptance of any modification. If Customer does not agree to any modification of this Agreement, Customer is terminating this Agreement in accordance with Section 12(a) of this Agreement.
12. TERMINATION.
(a) TERMINATION RIGHTS. Either party may terminate this Agreement at any time by providing the other party with no less than thirty (30) days written notice of such termination. Written notice shall be complied with by use of electronic mail and/or first class certified return receipt requested U.S. Postal Service mail.
(b) MINIMUM SERVICE AGREEMENT. Customer agrees to maintain and/or pay the monthly recurring charges for the minimum period per the contract. Termination of the agreement and/or nonuse of the circuit/equipment/services by customer does not excuse or anyway diminish Customers obligation to pay the recurring monthly charges.
(c) CUSTOMER’s OBLIGATIONS UPON TERMINATION. Customer agrees that upon termination of this Agreement, customer will cooperate and allow access to its premises to remove any Equipment provided (not to include equipment purchased or owned by Customer) for the Data/Voice Circuit circuit or use of said circuit and/or the ISP Services. Customer will return or destroy all copies of any software provided by INTERCONNECT pursuant to this Agreement, including all back-up copies.
(d) AUTOMATIC RENEWAL. Unless Customer notifies INTERCONNECT in writing not less than thirty (30) days prior to the expiration of the service agreement period, of its intention to not renew the service agreement, the agreement shall renew and obligate Customer to a successive and like service agreement period.
13. CONTACT ADDRESS. For any inquiries or notices required in connection with this Agreement, Customer should contact INTERCONNECT SERVICES, INC. at the published toll-free Customer Service number, or in writing to INTERCONNECT SERVICES, INC. , Customer Service Manager, Consumer Services, 661 Everhart RD, Corpus Christi, Texas 78411.
14. GOVERNING LAW. This Agreement, the rights and obligations of the parties hereto, and any claims or disputes hereunder, shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Texas without reference to conflict of law principles. All disputes arising out of or relating to this Agreement shall be submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and/or federal courts in the Southern District of Texas(Corpus Christi Division) and/or Nueces County, Texas and each party irrevocably consents to such personal jurisdiction and waives all objections thereto. Customer may not bring any claim, suit or proceeding more than one (1) year after the date that the cause of action accrues.
15. GENERAL. Nothing contained in this Agreement shall be construed to limit INTERCONNECT SERVICES, INC.’s actions or remedies in any way, and INTERCONNECT SERVICES, INC. reserves at all times, all rights and remedies available to it at law or in equity. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement and understanding between the parties with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement and supersedes and replaces any and all prior written or verbal agreements. No Third Party Beneficiaries are intended by the parties to benefit from this agreement. In the event that any portion of this Agreement is held to be unenforceable, the unenforceable portion shall be construed in accordance with applicable law as nearly as possible to reflect the original intentions of the parties and the remainder of the provisions shall remain in full force and effect. INTERCONNECT SERVICES, INC.’s failure to insist upon or enforce strict performance of any provision of this Agreement shall not be construed as a waiver of any provision or right. Neither the course of conduct between the parties nor trade practice shall act to modify any provision of this Agreement. This Agreement may not be assigned or transferred by Customer. This Agreement may be assigned or transferred by INTERCONNECT SERVICES, INC. without consent of Customer.
INTERIM PRIVACY STATEMENT
Because your privacy is important to us, Interconnect Services, Inc. ("Interconnect Services") has adopted the following interim policy regarding the use of your personal information that it receives from you through the use of our service:
This policy governs the use of your personal information, such as your name, home address, billing information and e-mail address (collectively "Personal Information") that Interconnect Services receives from you by virtue of your use of our service.
Interconnect Services will use your Personal Information for the purposes of providing you with Internet access and other Internet services you request, billing you for those services and notifying you or contacting you regarding any user bulletin or problem with the services. In these contexts, it may be necessary for Interconnect Services to divulge your Personal Information to one or more of its affiliates, but such affiliates will only use the information for these purposes. Neither Interconnect Services nor its affiliates will use your Personal Information for any other purpose and will not disclose your Personal Information to any third party, other than affiliates of Interconnect Services, except as required by law or with your permission. Interconnect Services does not sell Personal Information to third parties for profit.
Notwithstanding the preceding paragraph, Interconnect Services reserves the right to use your Personal Information received for this service for the purpose of marketing or promoting our goods and services directly to you. However, in the event you do not wish for your Personal Information to be used for such purpose, please notify Interconnect Services Customer Service by calling (800) 460-0546.
Interconnect Services has taken commercially reasonable efforts to ensure the integrity and security of the data obtained by Interconnect Services by virtue of your use of our service. If you would like to obtain a copy of the data file containing your Personal Information in Interconnect Services' possession, you may contact Interconnect Services at 661 Everhart Rd., Corpus Christi, Texas, 78411, Attention: Customer Service, or by calling Interconnect Services Customer Service at (800) 460-0546.
Interconnect Services is currently in the process of formulating its privacy policy and plans to finalize our official statement in this regard. If at any time you believe Interconnect Services has not adheredto this policy, please notify us by e-mail, and we will use commercially reasonable efforts to promptly determine and correct the problem. If you have questions about this policy, please e-mail us at help@interconnect.net. © 1995 - 2011 Interconnect Services, Inc. All rights reserved. Interconnect Services, Inc., 661 Everhart Rd, Corpus Christi, Texas, 78411. Interconnect Services, Inc. is a privately held Corporation.
ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY
As a provider of Internet access, web site hosting, and other Internet-related services, Interconnect offers its customers (also known as subscribers and/or users), and their customers and users, the means to acquire and disseminate a wealth of public, private, commercial, and non-commercial information.
Interconnect respects that the Internet provides a forum for free and open discussion and dissemination of information, however, when there are competing interests at issue, Interconnect reserves the right to take certain preventative or corrective actions.
In order to protect these competing interests, Interconnect has developed an Acceptable Use Policy ("AUP"), which constitutes subscribers/customers/users, suscriber's customers and/or users rights and obligations when utilizing Interconnect's services and constitutes a part of every agreement (whether oral, written, express and/or implied) entered into between Interconnect and any person and/or entity for use of Interconnnect's services of any kind or nature.
Use of any kind of Interconnect's services and/or network constitutes acceptance and agreement to abide by this Acceptable Use Policy. The Acceptable Use Policy is intended as a guide to the subscriber/customer/user. This AUP will be revised from time to time. A subscriber/customer/user's use of Interconnect's services after changes to the AUP are posted on Interconnect's web site, www.Interconnect.net, will constitute the subscriber/customer/user's acceptance of any new or additional terms of the AUP that result from those changes.
One important aspect of the Internet is that no one party owns or controls it. This fact accounts for much of the Internet's openness and value, but it also places a high premium on the judgment and responsibility of those who use the Internet, both in the information they acquire and in the information they disseminate to others. When subscribers/customers/users obtain information through the Internet, they must keep in mind that Interconnect cannot monitor, verify, warrant, or vouch for the accuracy and quality of the information that subscribers may acquire. For this reason, the subscriber/customer/user must exercise his or her best judgment in relying on information obtained from the Internet, and also should be aware that some material posted to the Internet is sexually explicit or otherwise offensive.
Because Interconnect cannot monitor or censor the Internet, subscriber/customer/user agrees that Interconnect is not responsible for injury to its subscribers/customers/users that results from inaccurate, unsuitable, offensive, or illegal Internet communications.
When subscribers/customers/users disseminate information through the Internet, they also must keep in mind that Interconnect does not review, edit, censor, or take responsibility for any information its subscribers/customers/users may create.
When subscribers/ customers/ users place information on the Internet, they have the same liability as other authors for copyright infringement, defamation, and other harmful speech. Also, because the information they create is carried over Interconnect's network and may reach a large number of people, including both subscribers and nonsubscribers of Interconnect, subscribers'/customers'/users' postings to the Internet may affect other subscribers/customers/users and may harm Interconnect's goodwill, business reputation, and operations. For these reasons, subscribers/customers/users violate Interconnect policy and the service agreement when they, their customers, affiliates, or subsidiaries engage in the following prohibited activities:
Spamming -- Sending unsolicited bulk and/or commercial messages over the Internet (known as "spamming") is prohibited. It is not only harmful because of its negative impact on consumer attitudes toward Interconnect, but also because it can overload Interconnect's network and disrupt service to Interconnect subscribers. Also, maintaining an open SMTP relay is prohibited. When a complaint is received, Interconnect has the discretion to determine from all of the evidence whether the email recipients were from an "opt-in" email list. Interconnect also has the discretion to warn, suspend and/or terminate the violating user's access to the internet through Interconnect's equipment.
Interconnect's customers are responsible for ensuring that they, their customers, and their respective agents and contractors abide by this policy. Interconnect's customers will be held responsible for all traffic either sent via their connection to Interconnect or sent elsewhere using support services provided via their connection to Interconnect. "Support services" includes hosting websites, electronic mailboxes, telephony gateways, IRC servers, sale of spamming software or other similar services. Customers are also responsible for ensuring that they do not advertise or promote themselves through UBE/UCE.
Intellectual Property Violations -- Engaging in any activity that infringes or misappropriates the intellectual property rights of others, including copyrights, trademarks, service marks, trade secrets, software piracy, and patents held by individuals, corporations, or other entities. Also, engaging in activity that violates privacy, publicity, or other personal rights of others. Interconnect is required by law to remove or block access to customer content upon receipt of a proper notice of copyright infringement. It is also Interconnect's policy to terminate the privileges of customers who commit repeat violations of copyright laws.
Obscene Speech or Materials -- Using Interconnect's network to advertise, transmit, store, post, display, or otherwise make available child pornography or obscene speech or material. Interconnect is required by law to notify law enforcement agencies when it becomes aware of the presence of child pornography on or being transmitted through Interconnect's network.
Defamatory or Abusive Language -- Using Interconnect's network as a means to transmit or post defamatory, harassing, abusive, or threatening language.
Forging of Headers -- Forging or misrepresenting message headers, whether in whole or in part, to mask the originator of the message.
Illegal or Unauthorized Access to Other Computers or Networks -- Accessing illegally or without authorization computers, accounts, or networks belonging to another party, or attempting to penetrate security measures of another individual's system (often known as "hacking"). Also, any activity that might be used as a precursor to an attempted system penetration (i.e. port scan, stealth scan, or other information gathering activity).
Distribution of Internet Viruses, Worms, Trojan Horses, or Other Destructive Activities -- Distributing information regarding the creation of and sending Internet viruses, worms, Trojan horses, pinging, flooding, mailbombing, or denial of service attacks. Also, activities that disrupt the use of or interfere with the ability of others to effectively use the network or any connected network, system, service, or equipment.
Facilitating a Violation of this AUP -- Advertising, transmitting, or otherwise making available any software, program, product, or service that is designed to violate this AUP, which includes the facilitation of the means to spam, initiation of pinging, flooding, mailbombing, denial of service attacks, and piracy of software.
Export Control Violations -- Exporting encryption software over the Internet or otherwise, to points outside the United States.
Usenet Groups -- Interconnect reserves the right not to accept postings from newsgroups where we have actual knowledge that the content of the newsgroup violates the AUP.
Other Illegal and/or Unlawful Activities -- Engaging in activities that violate any statute, law, rule, regulation and/or ordinance with jurisdiction over Interconnect and/or the user whether criminal or civil and/or acts of ommission and/or commission which are determined to be illegal, unlawful or violative of any statute, law, rule, regulation and/or ordinance including but not limited to advertising, transmitting, or otherwise making available ponzi schemes, pyramid schemes, fraudulently charging credit cards, pirating software, engaging in negligent and/or fradulent activities.
Other Activities -- Engaging in activities, whether lawful or unlawful, that Interconnect determines to be harmful to its subscribers, operations, reputation, goodwill, or customer relations.
As we have pointed out, the responsibility for avoiding the harmful activities just described rests primarily with the subscriber/customer/user. Interconnect will not, as an ordinary practice, monitor the communications of its subscribers/customers/users to ensure that they comply with Interconnect policy or applicable law. When Interconnect becomes aware of harmful activities, however, it may take any action to stop the harmful activity, including but not limited to, removing information, shutting down a web site, implementing screening software designed to block offending transmissions, denying access to the Internet, or take any other action it deems appropriate.
Interconnect also is aware that many of its subscribers/customers are, themselves, providers of Internet services, and that information reaching Interconnect's facilities from those subscribers/customers may have originated from a customer/user of the subscriber/customer or from another third-party. Interconnect does not require its subscribers/customers who offer Internet services to monitor or censor transmissions or web sites created by customers of its subscribers. Interconnect has the right to directly take action against a customer of a subscriber/customer. Also, Interconnect may take action against the Interconnect subscriber/customer because of activities of a customer of the subscriber/customer, even though the action may effect other customers of the subscriber/customer. Similarly, Interconnect requires subscribers/customers who offer Internet services to cooperate with Interconnect in any corrective or preventive action that Interconnect deems necessary. Failure to cooperate with such corrective or preventive measures is a violation of Interconnect policy.
Interconnect also is concerned with the privacy of on-line communications and web sites. In general, the Internet is neither more nor less secure than other means of communication, including mail, facsimile, and voice telephone service, all of which can be intercepted and otherwise compromised. As a matter of prudence, however, Interconnect urges its subscribers/customers/users to assume that all of their on-line communications are insecure. Interconnect cannot take any responsibility and is not liable for the security of information transmitted over Interconnect's facilities.
Interconnect will not intentionally monitor private electronic mail messages sent or received by its subscribers unless required and/or requested to do so by law, law enforcement governmental authority, or when public safety is at stake. Interconnect may, however, monitor its service electronically to determine that its facilities are operating satisfactorily. Also, Interconnect may disclose information, including but not limited to, information concerning a subscriber, a transmission made using our network, or a web site, in order to comply with a court order, subpoena, summons, discovery request, warrant, statute, regulation, law enforcement or governmental request. Interconnect assumes no obligation to inform the subscriber/customer/user that subscriber/customer/user information has been provided and in some cases may be prohibited by law from giving such notice. Finally, Interconnect may disclose subscriber/customer/user information or information transmitted over its network where necessary to protect Interconnect and others from harm, or where such disclosure is necessary to the proper operation of the system.
Interconnect expects that its subscribers/customers who provide Internet services to others will comply fully with all applicable laws concerning the privacy of on-line communications. A subscriber's/customer's failure to comply with those laws will violate Interconnect policy. Finally, Interconnect wishes to emphasize that in subscribing to and/or use of Interconnect's services, subscribers/customers and/or users agree to indemnify Interconnect for any violation of the service agreement, law, or Interconnect policy, that results in loss to Interconnect or the bringing of any claim against Interconnect by any third-party. This means that if Interconnect is sued because of a user, subscriber's/customer's or customer of a subscriber's/customer's activity, the user, subscriber, and/or customer of a subscriber/customer will pay any damages awarded against Interconnect, plus costs and reasonable attorneys' fees.
We hope this AUP is helpful in clarifying the obligations of Internet users, including Interconnect and its subscribers, as responsible members of the Internet. Any information regarding violations and/or alleged violations this AUP should be sent to help@interconnect.net.
help@interconnect.net