Acceptable Use Policy

This Acceptable Use Policy ("Policy") outlines prohibited activities on Noiz's ("we," "us," or "our") network and forms an integral part of our Hosting Terms of Service. We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to request modifications or disable any website, account, database, or other component that violates this Policy, including in emergency situations. To accommodate evolving client needs, business requirements, the Internet landscape, and legal developments, we may revise this Policy at any time. We encourage you to review it periodically. Continued use of our services following revisions constitutes your acceptance of the changes.

If you identify a potential violation of this Policy, please report it promptly by emailing abuse@noiz.co.za.

(Last updated: January 2026)

Table of Contents

1. SPAM and Unsolicited Email

Sending unsolicited commercial communications (including, but not limited to, email, instant messaging, SMS, chat rooms, discussion boards, and newsgroups) via Noiz's network is strictly prohibited.

Communications qualify as unsolicited if the recipient's email address was obtained without explicit consent or request, or if the recipient would not reasonably anticipate such communication based on an existing relationship. This applies to both personal and business email addresses (e.g., sales@companyxyz.co.za). Communications that do not clearly identify a consensual sender or that appear to originate from a third party or affiliate are also deemed unsolicited.

Examples of Unsolicited Communications:

• Purchased mailing lists, "safe lists," or harvested email addresses where recipients have not explicitly consented to receive communications from a specified sender.
• Emails requiring recipients to opt out of further unsolicited messages they did not initially request.
• One-time invitations for additional information that were not explicitly requested or consented to by the recipient.
• Emails sent to mailing lists containing unwilling recipients or those who have requested removal but continue to receive messages after a reasonable period.

Mailing list operators must maintain verifiable records of recipient consent and provide an unsubscribe option for future communications.

Upon receiving a SPAM complaint, Noiz may require verification of recipient consent, including when and how the email address was obtained.

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts sending unsolicited email (SPAM) with or without notice, in accordance with our Terms of Service.

Violators will be liable for any costs incurred by Noiz, including monetary damages and reputational harm. We may impose cleanup fees or charges for blacklist removal, determined at our discretion.

Using Noiz services (e.g., mailboxes, autoresponders, webpages) to send SPAM, even indirectly, constitutes grounds for suspension or termination. If a website is compromised and used for unsolicited communications, we may apply leniency for first incidents but reserve the right to suspend or terminate for repeat occurrences.

For additional details, refer to our FAQ on Spam Abuse.

2. Offensive Content

Noiz prohibits the publication of, or links to, the following content on its hosting systems:

• Pornographic, sexually explicit, or violent material.
• "Hate" sites or content reasonably deemed discriminatory based on sex, race, age, or other protected characteristics.
• Illegal content, including stolen copyrighted material.
• Defamatory content or material violating personal privacy.
• Content involving theft, fraud, drug trafficking, money laundering, or terrorism.
• Pirated software distribution sites.
• Illegal gambling sites.

If, in our sole discretion, client content violates any law (including the Film and Publications Act, 65 of 1996) or this Policy, we may:

• Require immediate removal or modification of the content;
• Suspend or terminate access to services without notice;
• Delete the offending content without notice;
• Notify relevant authorities if required, provide backups or copies as requested, disclose client data, and take further actions as mandated.

3. Misuse of Account Features

Account features must be used exclusively for developing and implementing your associated websites. Providing these features to third parties for purposes other than normal website access is prohibited. Services enabling or assisting anonymous or abusive third-party behaviour are forbidden. Any service degrading server stability, network components, or quality of service is prohibited.

Reselling multiple domains on Noiz's Shared Hosting packages to third parties is not permitted. Multiple domains are intended solely for the profile owner's websites.

4. Shared Systems and Resource Usage

Clients on shared environments must not interfere with system operations or disproportionately consume resources. Excessive server hits, bandwidth, disk usage, inefficient scripts, or database queries may impact other users. We may suspend accounts exhibiting such usage to protect the shared environment. These restrictions generally do not apply to Managed Virtual or Dedicated Servers unless they affect our management capabilities.

• Users may not initiate, via cron job, CGI script, or other means, processes on shared servers that:
  • Require more than 50MB of memory;
  • Consume more than 30 CPU seconds;
  • Run more than 10 simultaneous processes;
  • Send mail to more than 500 recipients per hour (e.g., 500 recipients for one email or 500 individual emails);
  • Send or receive emails larger than 20MB.
• Bulk mail exceeding these limits, even if non-SPAM, will result in account deactivation.
• Custom CGI scripts are permitted only on Shared Hosting Personal packages or higher and must not benefit external sites. Resource limits prevent runaway scripts.
• Interactive "chat" applications are prohibited on shared systems and are better suited for Managed Virtual or Dedicated Servers.
• MySQL databases (available on Shared Hosting Personal or higher):
  • Are limited to published quotas;
  • Each database is capped at 5GB;
  • May not store websites or circumvent disk allowances;
  • Are for use with Noiz-hosted packages only; external access is for development;
  • Allow 10 concurrent connections per user;
  • May not store binary files (e.g., images) directly—use links instead;
  • We may require changes or relocation if impacting performance.
• Cron jobs (on Shared Hosting Personal or higher):
  • Must not execute more frequently than every two hours;
  • Should use lower CPU priority if resource-intensive.
• Automated monitoring enforces resource limits.

5. Server-Side Processes

Installation or operation of standalone, unattended server-side processes (daemons) on Noiz servers is prohibited, except for permitted cron jobs. Violations may result in immediate account termination without warning. This does not apply to Managed Virtual or Dedicated Servers unless interfering with our management.

This restriction protects CPU/memory resources and enhances security by preventing unapproved programs from accepting external connections.

Managed Virtual or Dedicated Server disks at high load risk stability. We monitor and notify clients, providing guidance. After three unaddressed notifications, alerts are deactivated, potentially leading to unresponsive services.

The following are prohibited on Cloud and Self-Managed Server products:

• Cryptocurrency mining activities.

6. Internet Abuse

You may not use our network for illegal, abusive, or irresponsible activities, including:

• Unauthorised access, probing, scanning, or testing of systems/networks;
• Unauthorised monitoring of data/traffic;
• Interference with services (e.g., mail bombing, flooding, overload attempts);
• Using accounts/computers without owner authorisation;
• Deceptive information collection (e.g., phishing, password robbery, port scanning);
• Distributing software that covertly gathers/transmits user information;
• Activities likely to provoke retaliation against our network;
• Breaches of applicable laws, including the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 (ECT Act), which may result in fines or imprisonment;
• Introducing viruses or failing to use updated virus-scanning software;
• Forging messages, trafficking pirated software, or port scanning;
• Publishing information on illegal material availability, including links.

Compliance with connected networks' policies is required. Detected inappropriate activity may lead to account deactivation pending investigation, potentially involving law enforcement without prior notice.

7. Security

Clients must implement reasonable security measures. Negligence may lead to compromised websites/mailboxes, affecting others via blacklisting, phishing, or spamming.

• You are responsible for securing scripts/programs (using latest versions) and directory permissions. All account actions are your responsibility, including credential compromises. Secure passwords (at least 11 mixed alphanumeric characters with case variations, changed regularly, avoiding common words) are required. We may notify and require changes for weak passwords; failure may lead to suspension/termination if compromising the site.
• We reserve the right to reset passwords in abuse cases.

For guidance, review our FAQ on Secure Passwords.

8. Disk Usage

• Accounts with excessive files impact performance: Limit is 200,000 files total or 50,000 per directory. Exceeding this excludes files/directories from backups.
• Servers are not for personal storage; content must relate directly to your website(s).
• Large unaccessed mailboxes (e.g., catchalls) are prohibited, as they cause excessive usage.
• Email older than five years must not be stored on servers.
• Emails 5MB or larger must not be stored longer than one month.
• Shared Hosting packages have disk quotas; we notify overages monthly via email, allowing reduction or upgrades. Monitor usage via the Client Area (Home > My Dashboard > My Products & Services > Product Details).
• Automated systems track, notify, and charge for overages. For details, see our Billing and Payment Policy.
• Managed Virtual/Dedicated Server disks near capacity risk stability. We notify and guide; after three unaddressed notifications, alerts deactivate, potentially causing unresponsiveness.

9. Traffic Usage

9.1. Shared Hosting and Reseller

• These packages, including add-ons like CDN and WAF, have no fixed traffic quotas but are for shared website hosting, not primary file storage, archiving, high-volume video streaming, or multimedia.
• Learn more about our unlimited traffic policy here.

9.2. Managed Virtual or Dedicated Servers, Self-Managed Virtual or Dedicated Servers, Cloud, and Colocation

• Certain services require prior consultation, including:
  • Public mirroring accessible to the general public;
  • Websites/services redirecting traffic;
  • Reselling bandwidth/network capacity for end-user internet access;
  • Routing Colocation traffic via Self-Managed/Cloud servers to the internet.
• No fixed quotas, but we monitor patterns; disproportionate usage may trigger rate limiting to preserve network integrity (affecting speed, not volume or time). We are not liable for losses from such restrictions.
• Traffic usage is provided per IP; aggregation across servers is unavailable. Excessive usage is flagged for discussion.

All clients must adhere to this Policy to maintain server and network performance for the benefit of all users. To discuss specific requirements, contact support@noiz.co.za.