TERMS OF SERVICE AND PRIVACY

These are the terms and conditions under which AA TECH DESIGN provides Internet hosting services ("service" or "services"). These Terms of Service act as a fully binding agreement between AA TECH DESIGN. ("AA TECH DESIGN") and each of its customers ("Customer").

  1. All customers must maintain the accuracy of their contact information with AA TECH DESIGN. Failure to do so may result in suspension of service due to undeliverable correspondence. AA TECH DESIGN is not responsible for any inability by Customer to maintain contact information accuracy.
     
  2. AA TECH DESIGN will never sell or disclose Customer's contact information or customer lists to any third party, unless required by law or specifically authorized by Customer.
     
  3. AA TECH DESIGN reserves the right to refuse or terminate service to anyone, at any time and for any reason, including but not limited to violation of AA TECH DESIGN's Acceptable Use Policy. Should AA TECH DESIGN terminate Customer's service for a reason other than violation of the Acceptable Use Policy, AA TECH DESIGN will issue Customer a refund for the remaining paid period of service. Under no circumstances is AA TECH DESIGN responsible for any damages resulting from termination of service.
     
  4. AA TECH DESIGN may make changes to these Terms of Service at any time, and such changes will take effect thirty (30) calendar days after notice of the changes is given to Customer. If Customer does not agree with these Terms of Service, Customer must discontinue use of their services immediately and contact AA TECH DESIGN to cancel their account.
     
  5. Payments are due on the due date specified on each invoice, and AA TECH DESIGN dispatches physical mailed invoices approximately twenty (20) calendar days prior, unless an auto-debit account has been setup. If payment is not received by ten (10) calendar days after the due date, Customer's account will be suspended, and may incur a $75.00 reactivation fee at AA TECH DESIGN's discretion. Accounts may be deleted if they have spent eight (8) or more calendar days in a suspended state.
     
  6. A $40.00 service charge applies to all returned checks, cashier's checks, or money orders.
     
  7. Charges will be billed according to the price list currently in effect and posted within our web site. Customer may cancel an account or service at any time, but is responsible for fees remaining. For month-to-month billing, Customer is responsible for the current month's charges. Prepaid accounts are not refundable if Customer chooses to terminate the account before the paid period has expired. Any service added during a given month will be prorated from the service start date to the end of the month.
     
  8. If any invoice or portion thereof is disputed, the invoice must still be paid in full by the due date. Any credits issued in resolution of the dispute will be applied to the subsequent month's invoice.
     
  9. AA TECH DESIGN may modify account or service pricing at any time. Increases will take effect thirty (30) calendar days after notice has been provided to Customer. Customer may choose to cancel the account or service to avoid a price increase.
     
  10. Bandwidth will be billed according to the 95th Percentile Rule: all data samples from a given month are sorted from highest to lowest, and the top 5% are discarded. The highest remaining data sample is the "95th Percentile" number, which will be used as the basis for calculating the bandwidth rate (if above the subscribed bandwidth level) for that month.
     
  11. Customer is responsible for complying with United States federal, state, and local laws, and applicable laws of any other countries with which Customer uses the Internet to communicate. Customer may not participate in or support any illegal activities through the use of their service. AA TECH DESIGN does not control the content of network traffic to or from their services or network.
     
  12. AA TECH DESIGN's services are provided as-is, and are to be used at Customer's own risk. AA TECH DESIGN provides no warranties of any kind, expressed or implied, including warranties of salability or fitness for any particular purpose. AA TECH DESIGN is not responsible for hardware or software damage, loss of wages or data, or any other financial or personal loss resulting from the use of, or inability to use, the service. Any liabilities are strictly limited to the amount of the fee(s) paid for services rendered. Click here for our policy regarding the security of our servers.
     
  13. Customer is responsible for all actions taken or caused to be taken in Customer's use of the service. As a condition of service, Customer agrees to indemnify and hold harmless AA TECH DESIGN's officers, employees, agents, shareholders, and partners from any cause of action originating from use of the service.
     
  14. Due to the insecure nature of much of the global Internet, AA TECH DESIGN strongly suggests that credit card numbers or other personal information never be sent through e-mail or any other Internet service, unless proper encryption is used. Customer is fully liable and responsible for the security and integrity of their own services, including Internet servers. AA TECH DESIGN will not be held liable for any security breaches that may occur. Customer agrees to fully indemnify and hold harmless AA TECH DESIGN from any legal or financial claims that may result from a breach in the security of Customer's services.
     
  15. If any portion of this agreement is found to contradict federal, state, or local laws, the remaining portions will remain in full force. Any and all disputes regarding or resulting from this agreement will be governed by the laws and courts of Los Angeles, California.
     
  16. Additional terms and conditions may apply to some services; these terms are specified within the service's listing on our site. If you have any questions regarding our terms, conditions, and policies, please call AA TECH DESIGN at (310) 666-TECH, or e-mail service@AATechDesign.com.

ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY

This Acceptable Use Policy has been formulated with the following goals in mind:

  • Ensure the security, reliability and privacy of AA TECH DESIGN's network and systems, and the networks and systems of others.
  • Preserve the value of the Internet as a resource for information and free expression.
  • Preserve the privacy and security of Internet users.
  • Discourage irresponsible practices which degrade the usability of network resources and thus the value of Internet services.
  • Avoid situations that may cause AA TECH DESIGN to incur legal liability.
  • Maintain the image and reputation of AA TECH DESIGN as a responsible provider.

This Acceptable Use Policy in no way supercedes or overrides AA TECH DESIGN's Terms of Service.

  1. AA TECH DESIGN operates under a strict "No Spam" policy. The sending of any unsolicited e-mail advertising messages from, to, or through AA TECH DESIGN's services may result in the imposition of civil liability against the sender, in accordance with California Business & Professions Code Section 17538.45. A copy of the California Business & Professions Code may be obtained on-line from http://www.leginfo.ca.gov. "Unsolicited bulk" messages include, but are not limited to, commercial advertising, informational announcements, and political or religious tracts.
     
  2. The following activities are expressly prohibited, and may result in account suspension or termination:

    1. Sending unsolicited bulk e-mail (UBE) which advertises a Web site, e-mail account, or other service provided by or through AA TECH DESIGN.

    2. Making Usenet postings which advertise a Web site, e-mail account, or other service provided by or through AA TECH DESIGN, to any newsgroup whose charter does not specifically allow such advertisements.

    3. Sending UBE or posting advertisements to Usenet (except where specifically allowed by newsgroup charters) from a service provided by or through AA TECH DESIGN.

    4. Hosting "spam-friendly" Web sites, including spam software sites.

    5. Harassment, whether through content, frequency, or size of e-mail or Usenet messages.

    6. Sending e-mail to any person who does not wish to receive it. If a recipient asks to stop receiving email, the Customer must immediately and permanently cease to send that individual any further e-mail.

    7. Forwarding or otherwise propagating chain letters or "e-mail hoaxes," whether or not the recipient wishes to receive them, unless such propagation is both solicited and in the clear context of debunking or discrediting chain letters/hoaxes.

    8. Transmitting any electronic communication, including e-mail, using the name or address of another person or organization, for purposes of deception.

    9. Impersonating another individual by altering source IP address information, or forging e-mail/Usenet headers or other identifying information.

    10. Any attempt to fraudulently conceal, forge, or otherwise falsify one's identity in connection with use of the service.

    11. Any use of another party's electronic mail server to relay e-mail without express permission.

    12. Collecting replies to messages sent from another Internet service provider, where those messages violate this Acceptable Use Policy or any applicable policies of the other provider.

    13. Denial of Service, including, but not limited to, any form of Internet packet flooding, packet corruption, or abusive attack intended to impact the proper functioning of any party's Internet servers or services.

    14. Using AA TECH DESIGN's network, services, or systems to store or send content which is illegal according to the laws of United States of America, the state of California, the city of Los Angeles, or any International treaties respected by the United States of America, is not permitted for any reason.

    Storing or sending any material deemed either illegal or inappropriate for our networks, including but not limited to child pornography related material, pirated software or music, all spam-related materials including e-mail lists, is grounds for immediate termination. Note also that any child pornography related material, whether it is determined to be legal or not. This includes simulated child pornography, non-nude child pornography, or sites linking to such material. Offenses of this nature will be reported to the federal authorities and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

    15. Using or storing any type of software which is designed to or is likely to abuse or negatively impact Internet service, including, but not limited to, portscanners, hacking tools, ping flooding programs, security/root exploits, packet sniffers, and spam software.

    16. Modifying, changing, or obscuring the MAC (Media Access Control) or IP (Internet Protocol) address(es) of servers or services. Doing so may be considered cause for service suspension or termination.

    17. Intercepting or attempting to intercept, through any method, network traffic intended for other customers.

    18. Any previous or current behavior, such as the sending of unsolicited e-mail, that results in the addition of AA TECH DESIGN to any e-mail blackhole lists, otherwise negatively impacts the overall services of AA TECH DESIGN, or is in violation of our upstream providers Acceptable Use Policy is grounds for termination.

    19.  All e-mail lists operated by our customers, either advertising resources on our networks or being sent through our networks, must conform to the double opt-in standards. For more information regarding double opt-in lists and standards, please click here.

 

System Security and Responsibilities

Security is an important part of your Internet-based business, and it is important that our customers understand the security policies we apply to the servers at AA TECH DESIGN. Every server our customers sign up for is built using our latest operating system builds, and contain the latest vendor-supplied patches.

While our builds provide the initial security to keep your company secure, new security problems arise with all server types every day, and we cannot maintain the security of all of the systems operated by our customers. The only exception to this case is servers that are directly maintained by our company.

In the event of a system compromise on a host we are not maintaining, it is the responsibility of the customer to back-up his data and contact us to take action. Our policy is to immediately re-install any compromised servers on our network, as they pose a threat to all of our systems. We can perform a re-install for a $50 consulting fee. The typical downtime during one of these re-installs is about ten minutes.

 

Double Opt-In

Confirmed Opt-In (also known as Double Opt-in), is the only method we allow for the e-mail lists operated by our customers. To better explain why we require this, it should should be explained what Opt-In and Confirmed Opt-In mean.

Opt-In:

An opt-in list is such that a user adds his name to a list by entering his e-mail address into the system, whether through a form on a webpage or entry into a contest or some other method. After his address is entered, the user is signed up to receive e-mails from the list operator. This method is not secure, however, as any rogue user can add as many e-mail addresses into the list as he or she wishes, effectively spamming the recipients of the bulk e-mail. For this reason, we do not allow singe opt-in lists.

Confirmed Opt-In:

This method of adding users begins just as the previous: a user enters his e-mail address into the list operator's system. However, instead of immediate mailings being sent out, the e-mail list software sends out a confirmation message, asking for the user to confirm his addition to the list. If the user replies to that message, from the e-mail address that was signed up, he will be subscribed to the list. If the user does not reply to that message, he will receive no further mailings at all. This method drastically reduces the number of unwanted e-mails being sent to unhappy recipients, and that is why we require it for all e-mail lists operated by our customers.

These methods help keep our networks and the entire Internet spam-free, and we hope you find them to be agreeable. If you have any questions regarding these policies, feel free to contact us and ask about them. We'll be happy to point you in the right direction for information on converting your list to confirmed opt-in

 

These terms and conditions are current as of 03/08/2005. If you have any questions regarding these terms, please contact AA TECH DESIGN by phone at (310) 666-TECH.

AA TECH DESIGN Copyright ©2005 All rights reserved.