Introduction
This Acceptable Use Policy ("AUP") governs your use of Gulf Tech Corporation's services, including but not limited to hosting, email, cloud platforms, software products and any related infrastructure (collectively, "Services").
By using our Services, you agree to comply with this AUP. Violations may result in suspension or termination of services without refund, and may carry legal consequences.
Scope
This policy applies to all users — individual subscribers, businesses, resellers, third parties and anyone accessing Gulf Tech systems either directly or through one of our customers.
Prohibited Content
You may not use Gulf Tech Services to publish, transmit, store, link to, or distribute content that:
- Violates Saudi or international law, including content that violates KSA's anti-cybercrime laws, copyright laws or media regulations
- Is sexually explicit, obscene or pornographic in any form
- Promotes violence, terrorism, hate speech or incites harm against individuals or groups
- Infringes intellectual property rights — copyrights, trademarks, patents or trade secrets of others
- Contains malware, viruses, ransomware, worms, trojans or any malicious code
- Defames, harasses, threatens or invades the privacy of any individual or organization
- Constitutes gambling, lottery or sweepstakes activities prohibited under KSA law
- Discloses confidential or sensitive personal data without proper authorization
- Misrepresents religious teachings or violates the principles of Islamic Shariah law
- Promotes counterfeit goods, illegal drugs, weapons or other prohibited items
Prohibited Activities
The following activities are strictly prohibited on Gulf Tech Services:
Network & System Abuse
- Unauthorized access to other systems, networks, accounts or data
- Port scanning, vulnerability scanning or penetration testing of third-party systems without consent
- Denial of Service (DoS / DDoS) attacks against any system
- Forging email headers, IP addresses or any other identifier
- Cracking passwords, security codes or encryption
- Bypassing or circumventing any security mechanism
Email Abuse
- Sending unsolicited bulk email (spam) or unsolicited commercial email
- Operating "snowshoe", "phishing" or "spear-phishing" campaigns
- Forging email headers or using third-party mail relays without permission
- Maintaining open SMTP relays
- Harvesting email addresses or sending mail to harvested addresses
Resource Abuse
- Excessive CPU, memory or bandwidth usage that degrades service for other users
- Cryptocurrency mining on shared infrastructure
- Running peer-to-peer networks, torrents or file-sharing networks
- Hosting proxy servers, VPN exit nodes or anonymizing services
- Storing backup data exceeding allocated quotas
Hosting Service Rules
For Gulf Tech hosting services (Shared, VPS, Dedicated, Cloud), the following additional rules apply:
Resource Limits
- Shared hosting accounts may use a maximum of 25% CPU for no longer than 90 seconds per request
- Concurrent database connections are limited based on plan tier
- Inode (file count) limits apply to all shared hosting plans
- Backup files older than 30 days may be automatically purged
Content & Application Restrictions
- Adult content, gambling and warez sites are not permitted on shared hosting
- Streaming audio/video servers require a dedicated server plan
- IRC servers and game servers are not permitted on shared hosting
- Mail-list managers must be approved in advance for shared hosting
Backups & Data
- Customers are responsible for maintaining their own off-site backups
- Gulf Tech maintains courtesy backups but does not guarantee restoration
- Data restoration from backups may incur fees
Intellectual Property
You retain ownership of all content you upload to or create using Gulf Tech Services. However, you grant Gulf Tech a limited license to host, store, process and back up your content as necessary to provide the Service.
You represent and warrant that you have the legal right to upload, transmit and distribute all content placed on our Services. You agree to respect the intellectual property rights of others.
Copyright Infringement
Gulf Tech responds to valid copyright infringement notices in accordance with applicable laws. If you believe content on our Services infringes your copyright, please send a notice to info@gulftech.sa including:
- Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to be infringed
- Identification of the infringing material and its location
- Your contact information
- A statement of good-faith belief that the use is unauthorized
- A statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information is accurate
- Your physical or electronic signature
Security Responsibilities
You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account, including:
- Keeping your password confidential and using strong, unique passwords
- Enabling two-factor authentication where available
- Keeping all installed software, plugins, themes and applications up-to-date
- Promptly applying security patches to software you control
- Monitoring your account for suspicious activity
- Notifying Gulf Tech immediately of any suspected security incident at info@gulftech.sa
Compromised Accounts
If your account is compromised and used to send spam, malware or attack other systems, Gulf Tech reserves the right to suspend service immediately to protect the broader internet community.
Monitoring & Enforcement
Gulf Tech does not routinely monitor user content but reserves the right to do so when investigating potential AUP violations or responding to legal requests. We may also use automated systems to detect:
- Spam and bulk email abuse
- Malware, phishing pages or compromised content
- Excessive resource consumption
- Brute-force login attempts
- Known malicious file signatures
When a violation is detected, our response may include — but is not limited to — warnings, content removal, service suspension or account termination.
Violations & Consequences
Gulf Tech takes AUP violations seriously. Depending on the severity and nature of the violation, our response may include:
- Written Warning: first-time minor violations may receive a notice with a remediation period
- Content Removal: prohibited content will be removed at our discretion
- Service Suspension: partial or complete suspension of your services pending investigation
- Account Termination: immediate termination for severe or repeated violations, without refund
- Legal Action: referral to law enforcement and pursuit of civil remedies including damages
- IP Block: network-level blocking to prevent further abuse
For severe violations involving illegal activity, child safety, terrorism or critical security threats, we may take immediate action without prior notice.
Appeals Process
If you believe your service was suspended or terminated in error, you may appeal by:
- Sending an email to info@gulftech.sa with the subject line "AUP Appeal — [Your Account ID]"
- Providing a detailed explanation of why you believe the action was unwarranted
- Including any supporting evidence (logs, screenshots, third-party documentation)
- Outlining steps taken to prevent recurrence
Appeals are reviewed by our compliance team within 5 business days. The decision of the compliance team is final.
Reporting Abuse
If you become aware of any content or activity on Gulf Tech Services that violates this AUP, please report it immediately:
Please include as much detail as possible — URL, IP address, timestamps, screenshots and any other relevant information.
Changes to This Policy
Gulf Tech reserves the right to modify this Acceptable Use Policy at any time. Changes become effective upon posting to our website. We will notify registered customers of material changes via email at least 30 days in advance.
Your continued use of our Services after any change constitutes acceptance of the revised AUP. If you do not agree to the changes, you must discontinue use of our Services.