Terms & Conditions

6th February 2006 ~ version 1.01 (previous version)

Future Shock provides web hosting under the following Terms & Conditions. Should we ever need to change these Terms & Conditions we will notify all account holders prior to doing so, explaining what is being changed and why. If you do not accept these changes, you will need to contact us to discuss cancellation of your account.

It is recommended that you keep a printed copy of these Terms & Conditions and any future ammendments.

1. SMTP servers
   Usage of our SMTP servers is provided where your dialup ISP allows. When an email is sent from you computer, it is passed through the mail-server of your dial-up (or broadband) provider on to our servers. Many providers implement a policy of not allowing this "relaying" of messages in an attempt to block spam - this includes FreeServe and BT Internet in the UK. If your provider does not allow relaying, you will not be able to send mail using our SMTP servers.
2. Domains
   Any domains that are registered by us on your behalf will be registered for an minimum period of two years, you will be informed prior to expiry and given the option to renew or cancel the domain. We always register domains under your contact name, this means that you have complete authority over the domain and you will be able to transfer or amend the domain in any way you wish.
3. Bandwidth
   All hosting accounts come with a specified bandwidth limit. If this is exceeded without prior notification to us, you will be billed at £5.00 per GigaByte of bandwidth in excess of your specified monthly limit. It is much cheaper to add extra bandwidth to your account if you expect your site to exceed in the upcoming month - regular monitoring of your site statisics is crucial in this respect. Excess bandwidth will not be charged if the increase in bandwidth is caused by a malicious attack.
4. Statistics & log-files
   All hosting accounts come with usage statistic reports. These are generated automatically and are accessable through your control panel. Raw log-files are only kept by us for one month, if you require copies of these before deletion it is your reponsibility to download them using the backup (compressed) feature in your control panel.
5. Security
   We do NOT look directly at your files on our servers unless you request us to do so, nor do we pass on or sell any of the information regarding your account (this includes your email accounts). We take security very seriously, and maintain our servers with all known software patches from Microsoft and other vendors - we do not want our servers hacked any more than you do! We can fully advise you on any security issues regarding the development of your website and databases, including Data Protection requirements (we will charge consultancy fees for this service). It is STRONGLY recommended that you aquaint yourself with all legal and seurity requirements of taking and storing any personal information (including email addresses) using your website. We have colated some of this information for your convenience, click here to access this information.
6. Abuse
   We do NOT support or accept any abuse of our servers. We are strongly opposed to any form of unsolicited or spam email. Severe measures will be taken upon any reported or detected abuse of our servers. However, accounts will not be suspended without at least one attempt to communicate with the account holder. You are advised to ensure that the contact email address on your account is up-to-date.
7. Backups
   With the exception of SQL Server databases, we do NOT make regular backups of the files on our servers. We have provided you with a backup (zipped) feature in your control panel so that you can easily manage your own backup schedule. This is to save on excess bandwidth, hard drive space, and server utilisation - so that we can keep the cost of our hosting accounts as low as possible. It is essential that you maintain regular backups if your site uses any database files. Customers with SQL Server database hosting benefit from an automated off-site daily backup service.
8. Uptime
   Our servers and network are leased to us with a 99.95% uptime gaurantee. We cannot at present offer any financial compensation to account holders if this gaurantee is breached. This is not us being tight, it is purely that the compensation we receive in the case of such a breach is only sufficient to cover our costs in handling the matter. However, this is a good indication of the reliability of our servers and network - the leasing company has no desire to suffer outages!
9. Support
   Our technical support is currently only available between 9am and 5pm GMT Monday to Friday. We will attempt to respond to all requests within 24 hours and any critical problems will be addressed with expediency. Our servers and network are leased to us with 24/7 on-site technical crew - in extreme cases it may be possible for us to put you in direct contact, but this will be purely at our discretion.