At The Solution Centre (TSC), we are committed to providing reliable and secure web services to all our users. To ensure a positive experience for everyone, we have established the following Acceptable Usage Guidelines. By using our services, you agree to comply with these guidelines.
- Prohibited Content and Activities
You may not use our services to engage in any of the following:
Illegal Activities: You must not use our services to host, transmit, or distribute content that violates any applicable local, state, national, or international law or regulation. This includes, but is not limited to, content related to illegal drugs, child exploitation, piracy, and fraud.
Security Breaches and Exploits: You must not engage in activities that compromise the security or functionality of our services, networks, or systems. This includes attempting unauthorized access, distributing malware, exploiting vulnerabilities, or engaging in hacking activities.
Malicious or Harmful Content: You are prohibited from uploading, sharing, or distributing any content that is harmful to our servers or other users, including viruses, malware, Trojans, or any other type of malicious software.- Excessive Resource Usage
Our company offers stable and high-performance services to all our customers. However, some activities or applications may cause an undue burden on our resources, leading to service interruptions, degradation in performance, or a negative impact on other users. To maintain the integrity of our services, the following restrictions and guidelines apply to the use of resources, bandwidth, and server load:
2.1 Excessive Bandwidth Consumption
Bandwidth is a finite resource, and excessive use can lead to performance degradation or even service outages. You are responsible for ensuring that your usage does not exceed reasonable limits and does not interfere with other customers’ access to services. Prohibited activities related to bandwidth usage include:
High Traffic Applications: Applications or websites that generate unreasonably high levels of traffic (e.g., large-scale web crawlers, file-sharing systems, video streaming, or large downloads) that could affect the performance of the server or network.
Automated Bots and Crawlers: Running automated scripts or bots that scrape or access content from the server in a manner that generates an excessive number of requests (e.g., search engine bots, content aggregators) can overwhelm server resources.
Large File Transfers: Continuously uploading or downloading extremely large files (such as high-definition videos, disk images, or large datasets) in a manner that uses up a disproportionate amount of server or network resources.
Data Mirroring and Backup Services: Running continuous data replication, mirroring, or backup services that cause excessive bandwidth consumption without prior approval.Actionable Guidelines:
Optimize your applications to minimize bandwidth consumption where possible.
Use caching and content delivery networks (CDNs) to reduce server load.
Ensure that automated tools (e.g., bots, crawlers) respect the The Solution Centre robots.txt guidelines, and avoid using them at scales that affect overall server performance.2.2 Excessive CPU Usage and Server Load
Web hosting environments typically have resource limits in place to ensure fair usage for all customers. If your applications consistently consume an excessive share of the server’s CPU, memory, or other system resources, this can result in slow performance or disruptions. You must refrain from running processes or applications that:
Consume Unreasonable CPU: Applications that consume a disproportionate amount of processing power (e.g., poorly optimized scripts, high-complexity computational tasks, continuous background processes) that impact server performance or disrupt service for other users.
Resource-Intensive Scripts: Running poorly optimized scripts or databases queries (e.g., infinite loops, excessive database queries, or unoptimized PHP scripts) that place unnecessary strain on the server.
High-Volume Transactions: Services that process an inordinate number of transactions (e.g., real-time auctions, high-frequency data updates) that overwhelm server resources.
Memory Leaks and Mismanagement: Applications or services with memory leaks that cause the server to run out of memory, potentially resulting in crashes or slowdowns.Actionable Guidelines:
Design your applications to be efficient in their use of CPU and memory.
Use profiling tools to detect and optimize high CPU or memory consumption in your applications.
Periodically audit and optimize database queries and code for performance issues.
Consider using scalable infrastructure (e.g., cloud services with auto-scaling) if your application requires large amounts of computational resources or if your application grows over time.2.3 Denial of Service (DoS) and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Attacks
Denial of Service attacks, including DDoS, aim to overwhelm a server with an excessive volume of traffic, making it unavailable to legitimate users. These types of attacks can severely disrupt services and degrade performance. You must not use our services to initiate, conduct, or facilitate any DoS or DDoS attacks.
Flooding and Overloading: Sending massive amounts of traffic, requests, or data packets to a server in an attempt to overload the system and deny access to legitimate users.
Exploiting Vulnerabilities for Attacks: Using our servers or services to launch or participate in attacks on other servers or systems, including exploiting vulnerabilities in software or protocols for malicious purposes.Actionable Guidelines:
Ensure your website or application has proper security measures in place to mitigate any form of attack, such as firewalls, rate-limiting, and bot protection.
If you’re running high-traffic websites or services, consider implementing DDoS mitigation tools or services.
Regularly audit and update security protocols to prevent your website or server from being used as a vector for attacks.2.4 Inappropriate Use of Shared Hosting Resources
If you are on a shared hosting environment, you are sharing server resources with other customers. Excessive usage of shared resources can lead to performance issues for everyone. You should avoid:
Running Excessive Processes: Running background processes or services that continuously consume CPU cycles, RAM, or I/O operations, which can affect the stability and performance of the shared server.
High-Volume Web Traffic: Hosting websites or applications that generate high-traffic loads during peak times (e.g., online gaming, live-streaming, or large media files) that negatively impact the availability or performance of the server for other users.Actionable Guidelines:
Optimize your website or application for performance to avoid overloading shared resources.
If your application has high resource demands, consider upgrading to a Virtual Private Server (VPS) or dedicated hosting solution for more control over resources.
Regularly monitor your resource usage to ensure that it remains within reasonable limits.2.5 Notification of Resource Usage Issues
In the event that your account is consuming resources in a manner that violates these guidelines, we will contact you with a notification to take corrective action. This may include:
A request to reduce resource usage.
Recommending specific optimizations or upgrades to your service plan.
Temporary suspension or throttling of your service to prevent further impact on other users.Failure to address excessive usage within a reasonable time frame may result in account suspension, service termination, or additional charges for excess resource usage.
Actionable Guidelines:
Keep an eye on resource consumption and set up monitoring for your server or application.
Respond promptly to any resource usage warnings or notifications from our team and work to resolve any issues.By adhering to these guidelines, you help ensure the smooth operation of our services for all users, while also optimizing your own application’s performance. If you anticipate significant resource usage (e.g., high traffic or data transfer), please reach out to us in advance so we can assist with planning and scaling your hosting solution appropriately.
- User Responsibilities Compliance:
It is your responsibility to ensure that your usage of our services complies with all applicable laws, regulations, and these guidelines.
Content Monitoring: You are responsible for monitoring and managing the content you upload, publish, or distribute through our services. You should ensure that such content does not violate the rights of others or breach these Acceptable Usage Guidelines.
Reporting Violations: If you notice any activity or content that violates these guidelines, please contact us immediately so we can take appropriate action.- Consequences of Violating These Guidelines
Any violation of these Acceptable Usage Guidelines may result in the suspension or termination of your account, removal of content, or legal action if necessary. We reserve the right to modify, suspend, or terminate services for any user who fails to adhere to these guidelines. If a violation is sufficiently urgent, then we will notify you that we are making possible “back end” changes to mitigate the problems. We encourage a close relationship between TSC (your hosting company) and your IT services or web developers.
We appreciate your cooperation in ensuring a safe and secure environment for all users of our services. If you have any questions or need clarification, please contact us at david@solution-centre.co.za.
Thank you for choosing The Solution Centre!