Rules and restrictions for sending emails

Web hosting, WMS, Website, Mail hosting

It is strictly prohibited to use the Webhosting, WMS, WebSite, and Mailhosting services to send any bulk email messages, regardless of whether they are solicited or unsolicited.This includes bulk commercial offers and newsletters to subscribed recipients. If you need to send such mail, set up a service that specializes in mass mailings (VEDOS does not offer, mediate, or recommend any such services), or you can set up your own mail server on a VPS or dedicated server.

Webhosting, WMS, and WebSite send emails in two ways:

• from the web hosting server using the mail() function in PHP: this includes many contact forms, WordPress password recovery, and various other (at least partially) automated messages.
• from email software via our SMTP server: to send an email this way, you need to log in to your mailbox with your username and password.

Mail hosting allows you to send emails only via SMTP. With Webhosting and WMS, it is not possible to send unauthorized emails via the SMTP protocol(it is not possible to establish an external connection via TCP port 25). To send mail via the SMTP protocol from a web application, you need to send it in an authorized manner (i.e., after logging in) via our mail server or a third-party server on port 587.

The following table summarizes the email sending restrictions for hosting services:

Restrictions	NoLimit/Extra web hosting, Website (except Free), WMS	Low-cost web hosting	Individual Mail Hosting	Mailhosting Business (can be activated for any Webhosting)
Maximum number of emails sent via PHP per day	500	50	–	–
Maximum number of emails sent via SMTP per day	500	50	500	2500
Maximum size of sent email including attachments (MB)	100	100	100	100

When attempting to send an email above the specified limit:

• The mail() function in PHP returns false and the server discards the message
• The SMTP server will reject the message with an error message informing you that the limit has been exceeded.

The restriction applies to calendar days, and the counter is reset every day at midnight (CEST).

The specified limits for sent emails can only be increased by purchasing the additional Business Upgrade service. There is no entitlement to an increase in the limit, and the provider reserves the right to refuse a request for an increase (or for the provision of an additional service) without giving a reason. Increasing the limit does not permit the mass sending of email messages or justify it in any way.

Virtual and dedicated servers

You can use VPS and dedicated servers to send bulk requested messages, provided that you comply with the following conditions:

• the messages must be requested, i.e., recipients must be aware that they have subscribed to receive these messages
• messages must be sent in a non-intrusive quantity
• messages must be sent in reasonably small batches, never in large quantities at once
• The message must include instructions on how to unsubscribe, and the sender must accept and respect unsubscribe requests.

For virtual and dedicated servers, the customer is obliged to provide information about bulk mailings at our request:

• how recipients' email addresses are obtained and how consent to receive emails is obtained
• what messages are being sent
• how often are messages sent out
• in what quantities they are sent (total number, sending speed)
• how recipients can unsubscribe
• any additional information as requested by us

If the customer violates these terms and conditions or fails to provide us with the required information, we are entitled to block the sending of emails completely or suspend the entire server.

Why these restrictions?

First and foremost, it should be emphasized thatthese restrictions are not primarily aimed at our customers. Common causes and sources of spam include:

• A security hole in a PHP script that allows it to be exploited – e.g., mass posting to a discussion forum (the forum then sends these new posts to forum members), an error directly in the contact form, etc.
• The attacker steals the password to the website's FTP account (usually from an infected home PC) and then places a malicious PHP script on the customer's website, which is then used to send out mass spam. The customer may not have the slightest idea that this is happening.
• An error in the customer's PHP script, which, for example, "gets stuck in a loop" and starts sending emails intensively in an unplanned manner.

The deliberate sending of spam by our customers is the last thing that happens and that we deal with.

So why these restrictions?Webhosting, WMS, WebSite, and Mailhosting email services are shared—several hundred customers have their websites or mailboxes on a single server. If such a server starts sending bulk messages (for any reason) and is subsequently blocked by the recipient's email server, everyone else on the same server will also be temporarily or permanently blocked (because they all have the same IP address). If such a block is set by a major email service provider such as Seznam, Gmail, or Outlook, a large number of users and customers will not receive legitimate messages from that server until the situation is remedied and the address is unblocked. This can take hours or even longer.

Why aren't restrictions addressed until something happens?The solution must be preventive. If an attacker finds a loophole in website or email security and starts exploiting it for mass spamming, it's already too late. Sending tens of millions of messages is a matter of a single script and a relatively short amount of time; by the time we received and processed the report, such a server would already have been blocked in various places on the Internet.

This solution is not evil.Do not take it as a restriction aimed against you. Take it as your protection against the misuse of your website for illegal activities. Thanks to this preventive measure, we are able to ensure that the correct requested emails always reach your customers, friends, visitors, etc. from your website. Without this restriction, this might not be possible.