MDU Network Technologies, LLC Acceptable Use Policy

Effective Date: January 1, 2010

Last Updated: October 8, 2015

Introduction

MDU NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES is committed to complying with the laws and regulations governing use of the Internet, e-mail transmission and preserving for all of its Customers the ability to use MDU NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES's network and the Internet without interference or harassment from other users. The MDU NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES AUP ("AUP") is designed to help achieve these goals.

By using IP Service(s), as defined below, Customer(s) agrees to comply with this Acceptable Use Policy and to remain responsible for its users. MDU NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES reserves the right to change or modify the terms of the AUP at any time. Customer's use of the IP Service(s) after changes to the AUP are posted shall constitute acceptance of any changed or additional terms.

Scope of the AUP

The AUP applies to all MDU NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES consumer services that provide (or include) access to the Internet (collectively "IP Services).

Prohibited Activities

General Prohibitions:

MDU NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES prohibits use of the IP Services in any way that is unlawful, harmful to or interferes with use of MDU NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES's network or systems, or the network of any other provider, interferes with the use or enjoyment of services received by others, infringes intellectual property rights, results in the publication or dissemination of threatening material, or constitutes Spam/E-mail/Usenet abuse, a security risk or a violation of privacy.

Failure to adhere to the rules, guidelines or agreements applicable to search engines, subscription Web services, chat areas, bulletin boards, Web pages, USENET, applications, or other services that are accessed via a link from the MDU NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES-branded website or from a website that contains MDU NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES-branded content is a violation of this AUP.

Unlawful Activities:

IP Services shall not be used in connection with any criminal, civil or administrative violation of any applicable local, state, provincial, federal, national or international law, treaty, court order, ordinance, regulation or administrative rule. 

Violation of Intellectual Property Rights:

IP Service(s) shall not be used to publish, submit/receive upload/download, post, use, copy or otherwise reproduce, transmit, re-transmit, distribute or store any content/material or to engage in any activity that infringes, misappropriates or otherwise violates the intellectual property rights or privacy or publicity rights of MDU NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES or any individual, group or entity, including but not limited to any rights protected by any copyright, patent, trademark laws, trade secret, trade dress, right of privacy, right of publicity, moral rights or other intellectual property right now known or later recognized by statute, judicial decision or regulation.

Threatening Material or Content:

Services shall not be used to host, post, transmit, or re-transmit any content or material, or to create or operate from a domain name that harasses, frightens, or threatens the health or safety of other users. For those IP services MDU NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES hosts on its network, MDU NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES reserves the right to decline to host content that may be offensive or otherwise harmful to customers.

Inappropriate Interaction with Minors:

MDU NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES complies with all applicable laws pertaining to the protection of minors, including when appropriate, reporting cases of child exploitation to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. For more information about online safety, visit www.ncmec.org or www.att.com/safety.

Child Pornography:

IP Services shall not be used to publish, submit/receive, upload/download, post, use, copy or otherwise produce, transmit, distribute or store child pornography. Suspected violations of this prohibition may be reported to MDU NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES at the following e-mail address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . MDU NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES will report any discovered violation of this prohibition to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and take steps to remove child pornography from its servers or otherwise address such violation.

Spam/E-mail/Usenet Abuse:

Violation of the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, or any other applicable law regulating e-mail services, constitutes a violation of this AUP.

Spam/E-mail or Usenet abuse is prohibited using IP Services. Examples of Spam/E-mail or Usenet abuse include but are not limited to the following activities:

  • sending multiple unsolicited electronic mail messages or "mail-bombing" to one or more recipient;
  • sending unsolicited commercial e-mail, or unsolicited electronic messages directed primarily at the advertising or promotion of products or services;
  • sending unsolicited electronic messages with petitions for signatures or requests for charitable donations, or sending any chain mail related materials;
  • sending bulk electronic messages without identifying, within the message, a reasonable means of opting out from receiving additional messages from the sender;
  • sending electronic messages, files or other transmissions that exceed contracted for capacity or that create the potential for disruption of the MDU NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES network or of the networks with which MDU NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES interconnects, by virtue of quantity, size  or otherwise;
  • using another site's mail server to relay mail without the express permission of that site;
  • using another computer, without authorization, to send multiple e-mail messages or to retransmit e-mail messages for the purpose of misleading recipients as to the origin or to conduct any of the activities prohibited by this AUP;
  • using IP addresses that the Customer does not have a right to use;
  • collecting the responses from unsolicited electronic messages;
  • maintaining a site that is advertised via unsolicited electronic messages, regardless of the origin of the unsolicited electronic messages;
  • sending messages that are harassing or malicious, or otherwise could reasonably be predicted to interfere with another party's quiet enjoyment of the IP Services or the Internet (e.g., through language, frequency, size or otherwise);
  • using distribution lists containing addresses that include those who have opted out;
  • Sending electronic messages that do not accurately identify the sender, the sender's return address, the e-mail address of origin, or other information contained in the subject line or header.
  • falsifying packet header, sender, or user information whether in whole or in part to mask the identity of the sender, originator or point of origin;
  • using redirect links in unsolicited commercial e-mail to advertise a website or service;
  • posting a message to more than then (10) online forums or newsgroups, that could reasonably be expected to generate complaints;
  • intercepting, redirecting or otherwise interfering or attempting to interfere with e-mail intended for
    third parties;
  • knowingly deleting any author attributions, legal notices or proprietary designations or labels in a file  that the user mails or sends;
  • Using, distributing, advertising, transmitting, or otherwise making available any software program, product, or service that is designed to violate this AUP or the AUP of any other Internet Service Provider, including, but not limited to, the facilitation of the means to spam.

Security Violations

Customers are responsible for ensuring and maintaining security of their systems and the machines that connect to and use IP Service(s), including implementation of necessary patches and operating system updates.

IP Services may not be used to interfere with, gain unauthorized access to, or otherwise violate the security of MDU NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES's (or another party's) server, network, network access, personal computer or control devices, software or data, or other system, or to attempt to do any of the foregoing. Examples of system or network security violations include but are not limited to:

  • unauthorized monitoring, scanning or probing of network or system or any other action aimed at the unauthorized interception of data or harvesting of e-mail addresses;
  • hacking, attacking, gaining access to, breaching, circumventing or testing the vulnerability of the user authentication or security of any host, network, server, personal computer, network access and control devices, software or data without express authorization of the owner of the system or network;
  • impersonating others or secretly or deceptively obtaining personal information of third parties (phishing, etc.);
  • -using any program, file, script, command or transmission of any message or content of any kind, designed to interfere with a terminal session, the access to or use of the Internet or any other means of communication;
  • distributing or using tools designed to compromise security (including but not limited to SNMP tools), including cracking tools, password guessing programs, packet sniffers or network probing tools (except in the case of authorized legitimate network security operations);
  • knowingly uploading or distributing files that contain viruses, spyware, Trojan horses, worms, time bombs, cancel bots, corrupted files, root kits or any other similar software or programs that may damage the operation of another's computer, network system or other property, or be used to engage in modem or system hi-jacking;
  • engaging in the transmission of pirated software;
  • using manual or automated means to avoid any use limitations placed on the IP Services;
  • providing guidance, information or assistance with respect to causing damage or security breach to MDU NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES's network or systems, or to the network of any other IP Service providerfailure to take reasonable security precautions to help prevent violation(s) of this AUP.

Customer Responsibilities

Customers remain solely and fully responsible for the content of any material posted, hosted, downloaded/uploaded, created, accessed or transmitted using the IP Services. MDU NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES has no responsibility for any material created on the MDU NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES's network or accessible using IP Services, including content provided on third-party websites linked to the MDU NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES network. Such third-party website links are provided as Internet navigation tools for informational purposes only, and do not constitute in any way an endorsement by MDU NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES of the content(s) of such sites.

Customers are responsible for taking prompt corrective action(s) to remedy a violation of AUP and to help prevent similar future violations.

AUP Enforcement and Notice

Customer's failure to observe the guidelines set forth in this AUP may result in MDU NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES taking actions anywhere from a warning to a suspension or termination of Customer's IP Services. When feasible, MDU NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES may provide Customer with a notice of an AUP violation via e-mail or otherwise allowing the Customer to promptly correct such violation.

MDU NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES reserves the right, however, to act immediately and without notice to suspend or terminate affected IP Services in response to a court order or government notice that certain conduct must be stopped or when MDU NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES reasonably determines, that the conduct may: (1) expose MDU NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES to sanctions, prosecution, civil action or any other liability, (2) cause harm to or interfere with the integrity or normal operations of MDU NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES's network or networks with which MDU NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES is interconnected, (3) interfere with another MDU NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES Customer's use of IP Services or the Internet (4) violate any applicable law, rule or regulation, or (5) otherwise present an imminent risk of harm to MDU NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES or MDU NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES’ Customers.

MDU NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES has no obligation to monitor content of any materials distributed or accessed using the IP Services. However, MDU NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES may monitor content of any such materials as necessary to comply with applicable laws, regulations or other governmental or judicial requests; or to protect the MDU NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES network and its customers.

Incident Reporting

Any complaints regarding violation of this AUP by an MDU NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES Customer (or its user) should be directed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Where possible, include details that would assist MDU NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES in investigating and resolving such complaint (e.g. expanded headers,

IP address(s), a copy of the offending transmission and any log files).

Any notification that MDU NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES sends to its Customers pursuant to this AUP will be sent via e-mail to the e-mail address on file with MDU NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES, or may be in writing to Customer's address of record. It is Customer's responsibility to promptly notify

MDU NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES of any change of contact information.