Acceptable Use Policy

This Acceptable Use Policy specifies the Actions prohibited by BitWise Systems, Inc. ("BitWise"), BitWise Communications, Inc. and affiliate companies to users of BitWise's network, systems and services. BitWise reserves the right to modify the policy at any time without notice.

Illegal use
The BitWise Network and related services may be used only for lawful purposes. Transmission, distribution or storage of any material in violation of any applicable law or regulation is prohibited. This includes, without limitation, material protected by copyright, trademark, trade secret or other intellectual property right used without proper authorization, and material that is obscene, defamatory, constitutes an illegal threat, or violates export control laws.

You are solely responsible for any information that you or anyone you allow to access or use BitWise services (including any of your customers). Any inappropriate activity may incur fines or reimbursement charges for expenses generated by illegal or inappropriate use. In addition, BitWise reserves the right to suspend or terminate customer services immediately or at at any time for innapropriate use.

BitWise and its affiliates reserve the right to reFuse to post or to remove any information or materials, in whole or in part, that it, in its sole discretion, deems to be offensive, indecent, or otherwise inappropriate regardless of whether such material or its dissemination is unlawful.

Neither BitWise nor any of its affiliates has any obligation to monitor transmissions made on BitWise systems. However, BitWise and its affiliates have the right to monitor such transmissions from time to time and to provide this information to proper authorities as required by law.

Unlimited dial-up accounts are not dedicated accounts. Dial-up connections will automatically be disconnected after twelve (12) consecutive hours of use or fifteen (15) minutes of inactivity. Dial-up subscribers should only keep connections open while actively using their account, and may not use automated methods to avoid disconnection due to inactivity.

System and network security
Violations of system or network security are prohibited, and may result in criminal and civil liability. BitWise will investigate incidents involving such violations and may involve and will cooperate with law enforcement if a criminal violation is suspected. Examples of system or network security violations include, without limitation, the following:

Unauthorized access to or use of data, systems or networks, including any attempt to probe, scan or test the vulnerability of a system or network or to breach security or authentication measures without express authorization of the owner of the system or network.
Unauthorized monitoring of data or traffic on any network or system without express authorization of the owner of the system or network.
Interference with service to any user, host or network including, without limitation, mailbombing, flooding, deliberate attempts to overload a system and broadcast attacks.
Forging of any TCP-IP packet header or any part of the header information in an email or a newsgroup posting.

Email
BitWise networks and services may not be used to send unsolicited, bulk or commercial messages. This includes, but is not limited to, bulk mailing of commercial advertising, informational announcements, charity requests, petitions for signatures, etc. Such messages may only be sent to those who have explicitly requested them. Users that are proven to be sending out unsolicited e-mail are subject to a fine of $500 per incident and may be subject to criminal prosecution.

BitWise networks and services may not be used to send messages to any individual who has indicated that he/she does not wish to receive messages from you. BitWise services may not be used to collect responses from unsolicited email sent from accounts on other Internet hosts or email services which violates this policy or the acceptable use policy of any other Internet service provider.

"Mail bombing" is strictly prohibited. That is, you may not send numerous copies of the same or substantially similar messages, nor may you send very large messages or files to a recipient with the intent to disrupt a server or account. The propagation of chain letters is similarly prohibited, whether or not the recipient wishes to receive such mailings. BitWise is not responsible for the forwarding of email sent to any customer's service which has been suspended or terminated. Such email will either be returned to sender, ignored, deleted, or stored temporarily at BitWise's sole discretion.

Usenet/Newsgroups
Posting the same or similar message to one or more newsgroups (excessive cross-posting or multiple-posting, also known as "SPAM") is explicitly prohibited.

Messages posted to newsgroups must comply with the written charters or FAQs for those newsgroups. Advertisements, solicitations, or other commercial messages should be posted only in those newsgroups whose charters or FAQs explicitly permit them. You are responsible for determining the policies of a given newsgroup before posting to it.

Binary files may not be posted to newsgroups not specifically named for that purpose. Users posting binary files to groups with policies concerning the permissible daily volume of posted files are required to observe those limitations. Forging, altering or removing header information is prohibited. This includes attempting to circumvent the approval process for posting to a moderated newsgroup.

INDIRECT OR ATTEMPTED VIOLATIONS OF THE POLICY, AND ACTUAL OR ATTEMPTED VIOLATIONS BY A THIRD PARTY ON BEHALF OF A BITWISE CUSTOMER OR A CUSTOMER'S END USER, SHALL BE CONSIDERED VIOLATIONS OF THE POLICY BY SUCH CUSTOMER OR END USER.

Complaints regarding Illegal Use, network security issues, email abuse, SPAM or other illegal mail use should be sent to bwsupport@bwsys.net