Acceptable Use, Spam, and Abuse Reports

Full root access comes with one condition: what you run has to be lawful and cannot put other customers or the network's reputation at risk. This guide summarizes the acceptable use rules in the Terms of Service, explains how outbound mail is handled, and tells you what to do if your server ends up in an abuse report. The Terms of Service are the binding text; this is the plain-language version.

What is not allowed#

Services may be used only for lawful purposes under United States law, and you must be at least 18. Beyond that, the Terms list examples of prohibited use that include:

• Sites promoting illegal activity, gambling or lottery sites, and pornographic content
• Pirated software, media, or "warez" distribution, and file-dump or mirror scripts
• IP scanners, brute-force tools, mail bombers, and spam scripts
• Open proxies and anonymizers, IRC scripts and bots
• Sites that operate as a social network, and mass multimedia hosting scripts
• Content encouraging self-harm or harm to others, and forums linking to prohibited material
• Selling regulated products or services without proof of the required permits or licences
• Known or suspected fraudulent sites

Grey areas exist. If you are unsure whether a project fits, ask before you deploy; a two-line ticket beats a suspension.

You are responsible for your account#

Everything done under your account is your responsibility, including actions taken with compromised credentials or by a compromised server. That is not us being harsh; it is why the basics matter: 2FA on MyNobull, SSH keys, a firewall, and prompt updates.

Outbound email and spam#

NoBull Networks has a zero-tolerance spam policy, and to protect the reputation of the network's IP space we reserve the right to apply outbound SMTP filters by default. If your server has a legitimate need to send mail directly, open a ticket with the justification and we will review it; requests can be declined or revoked.

The practical advice, which also happens to get your mail delivered: send transactional and notification email through a reputable SMTP relay service rather than straight from the VPS. Ten minutes of setup, and no fight with spam filters. If you do run your own mail server, set a matching reverse DNS record, SPF, DKIM, and DMARC before the first message leaves.

If you receive an abuse report#

Abuse reports arrive from third parties (spam traps, security researchers, copyright holders, other networks) and name an IP address on our network. When one names yours, we forward it and expect a response. Here is how to handle it well:

1. Reply promptly in the ticket. Silence is what leads to suspension; engagement almost never does.
2. Investigate honestly. Check the timestamps against your logs (journalctl, web server access logs, mail logs). Look for unfamiliar processes, cron jobs, and users.
3. Stop the behaviour. Take the offending site or process offline, rotate credentials, and patch. If the server is thoroughly compromised, a reinstall from a clean image is usually faster than cleaning.
4. Tell us what you found and fixed. That closes the report and lets us respond to the complainant.

Where the risk to others is immediate (an active DDoS source, an open resolver being abused, an outbound spam flood) we may isolate the server first and contact you second. Getting it back is a matter of the same steps above.

Law enforcement and takedowns#

Under the Terms we may disclose information to law enforcement when legally required, and we may remove content that violates the agreement. Legitimate copyright and takedown notices for content on your server are forwarded to you to action; treat them like any other abuse report and respond in the ticket.