The Insight Broadband Service Agreement can be found here. Please be sure that you have fully read and understand our Service Agreement and Acceptable Use Policy. Violations of these policies can lead to suspension or even termination of your Insight Internet service.

 

Open Proxy Servers

 

An open proxy is a server that acts as an open relay but uses ports other than the normal SMTP port 25. Open proxies provide surrogate (proxy) communication ability to other servers or PCs through ports not reserved for normal use. There are many viruses and Trojans that can be used to install open proxy software on an unsuspecting user's computer. This is the most common usage of a proxy on a cable modem network. Spammers regularly use these types of servers to disguise the true origin of their unwanted e-mail.

 

Spamming

 

Spam is any information that the recipient did not explicitly consent to receive. There are ways to market on the Internet that do not entail the sending of unsolicited e-mail. UCE is any e-mail that the recipient did not request (unsolicited). This e-mail will always contain some sort of advertisement referring to a product of service. UBE is any e-mail sent in bulk form that the recipients did not specifically request. UBE may contain advertising or it may ask you to go to a certain Web site. If it was sent to dozens or hundreds of recipients, it qualifies as UBE. For more information on acceptable Internet marketing practices, please visit http://spam.abuse.net.

 

Your e-mail will be considered unsolicited if your membership addresses are not 100% opt-in by your e-mail list members. If your e-mail addresses came from harvesting, a purchased e-mail list, another mailing list (even with the approval of the other list owner), or were compiled by any method other than by direct subscription from your e-mail list members, they will be considered unsolicited (non-opt-in) e-mail (spam) for the purposes of the Insight Internet Service Agreement.

 

For more information on basic mailing list management guidelines, please visit http://www.mail-abuse.net/an_listmgntgdlines.html.

 

Mail Bombing

 

Mail bombing refers to sending hundreds of thousands of e-mails to a single recipient. In effect, this can deny the recipient from downloading his or her mail, fill up a POP mail drop, or fill up the recipient's hard drive. A customer who mail bombs is subject to suspension or termination under the Insight Terms of Service Agreement.

 

Unauthorized Access Attempts

 

Attempting to gain unauthorized access into another computer is a violation of the Insight Terms of Service Agreement as well as many state and Federal laws. Attempted unauthorized access includes (but is not limited to) exploiting application vulnerabilities, port scanning, Trojan/virus connection attempts, or password cracking. If activity of this type is traced to your account it may result in suspension or termination of your service.

 

Denial of Service Attacks (DoS/DDoS)

 

Any attempt to stop a target machine from communicating on the Internet or from allowing communication from the Internet to the target machine is considered a violation of the Insight High Speed Internet Terms of Service Agreement as well as many state and Federal laws. If activity of this type is traced to your account it may result in suspension or termination of your service. These attempts include (but are not limited to) ICMP floods, SYN Floods, Smurf attacks, or Land attacks.

 

Distribution of Copyrighted Material

 

Issues involving reports of copyright infringement have been growing dramatically over the past several months. This is partly due to the increase in file sharing programs and partly as the result of a substantial increase in tracking down this type of activity by major players in the music, software, and movie industries. The Recording Industry Associating of America (RIAA) actively looks for copyrighted music such as MP3s. Universal Studios actively looks for movies such as DVDs or Divx. There are also software owners and artists that look for this material themselves. Insight does not actively seek out copyright violations.

 

A copyright is an intangible property right in original material created by an author. Examples of copyrighted material include software, music, images, or multimedia works. Copyrighted works also include any original expression, which appears on someone's homepage or is transmitted in a newsgroup or by e-mail. Typically, it consists of music (MP3s), movies (MPEG, AVI, and Divx), software (warez), or original art.

 

In addition to being a violation of the Terms of Service, distribution of copyrighted materials is also a violation of US federal law that possesses stiff criminal and civil legal penalties. When Insight is notified of copyright infringement, we are obligated under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) to take action.

 

If a customer has copyrighted material on FTP, Hotline, or a Web page, and this material is accessible to someone other that the account holder, the customer will be held responsible for the distribution of copyrighted material.

 

Sometimes, customers may place a disclaimer on their site that states unauthorized access is not permitted. This type of disclaimer does not absolve the customer or Insight of responsibility or liability. If a customer has a connection that contains copyrighted material that is accessible to anyone other that the account holder, then the customer is in violation of the Insight High Speed Internet Terms of Service Agreement.

 

It is also a violation of the Insight Terms of Service Agreement to post copyrighted material to any public bulletin board or newsgroup. The same conditions and responsibilities apply to posting copyright material that applies to serving copyright material. A list of FAQs relating to copyright issues can be viewed here.

 

Server Operation

 

FTP servers: Running an FTP server is a violation of the Insight Terms of Service, regardless of its intended use. This includes FTP servers that are for "personal use only".

 

E-Mail: The operation of a mail server (SMTP/POP or other) on the Insight network is a violation of the Insight Terms of Service. This violation in particular can cause substantial issues for the network and the Insight mail system. Misconfiguration of mail server software can result in an "open relay" condition. An "open relay" exists when a machine has an e-mail server misconfigured to allow anyone on the Internet to use it as an outgoing mail server. This means (for example) that instead of a person configuring their mail client to send mail through smtp.theirservice.com, they can configure it to send mail through your misconfigured mail server. This can easily allow someone from anywhere in the world to send large volumes of unsolicited mail through your computer, and ultimately the Insight network, without your knowledge. Should Insight receive complaints of UCE/UBE that trace back to your Insight Service it could result in suspension or termination of your account regardless of whether the mail actually originated from you or some other point.

 

Gaming Servers: Running a gaming server is a violation of the Insight Terms of Service Agreement. This does not mean that you cannot participate in online gaming. But you can not operate a server with the intent of allowing a group of other users to connect to it for the purpose of gaming.

 

 

 Unauthorized Use of a Static IP Address

 

Only Insight static IP customers are allowed to use a static IP address. All over levels of service utilize DHCP for IP assignment. Configuring any equipment connected to your Insight service to utilize a static IP is a violation of the Terms of Service Agreement.

 

Several problems can occur if your system is configured with a static IP address. If you have configured your system with a static IP address, there is a possibility that when IP addresses are reassigned (as they are regularly), another customer will be assigned that same IP address. When this happens, a conflict will occur and the other customer will be without service. If this occurs, your service will be suspended until the problem can be resolved. Continued violations of this sort could result in permanent termination of your service.

 

Click here to report a violation.