Terms and Conditions

The English version of the texts below is provided only as a convenience, to make the original French version easier to read and understand. In the event of a dispute or of any discrepancy between the two versions, the French version prevails and governs the relationship between the parties.

By using this website, or any Astral Internet product or service, you agree to be bound by the terms that follow. Please read them carefully before going any further.

Preamble

The parties. This agreement (the “Agreement”) is entered into between you (the “Client”) and Astral Internet inc. (“Astral Internet”), whose head office is located at 1055, boulevard du Séminaire Nord, suite 242, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu (Québec) J3A 1R7. It governs the use of any Astral Internet product or service (collectively, the “Service”).

Acceptance. By ordering, using or continuing to use the Service, the Client acknowledges having read and understood the Agreement and its appendices, and agrees to comply with them. A Client who does not accept the Agreement must neither begin nor continue to use the Service, and must inform Astral Internet of the decision to cancel. Acceptance of a subsequent amendment is governed by section 13.1: continued use of the Service does not, in itself, constitute acceptance of such an amendment.

The documents that form part of the Agreement.

1. The Acceptable Use Policy, attached as Appendix A.
2. The Privacy Policy, published at www.astralinternet.com.
3. The page of the product ordered, which is the official reference for the features and limits of the plan: websites, storage, resources, email, files, databases and other technical limits. The version that applies to the order is the one published on that date; later changes apply to the Client in accordance with section 13.1 and applicable legal rules. Updating the page alone does not replace any required notice or consent.
4. The Statement of Support, published at www.astralinternet.com. For the product and management level subscribed to, the list of included and excluded services set out in the corresponding part of that statement is incorporated into the Agreement. The response times presented in it as objectives remain indicative and are not commitments. Support rates are those of section 3 of the Agreement. Any change to the scope purchased follows section 13.1.

In the event of inconsistency, the Agreement prevails over its appendices, and the appendices prevail over the other documents. As an exception, the technical features and limits of the plan are those of the product page applicable to the Client under item 3 above. The use, security, archiving and backup rules of the Agreement and of Appendix A continue to apply.

Capacity to contract. The Service is offered to persons of full age who have the capacity to contract. A person ordering on behalf of a business or an organization represents that they are authorized to bind it.

1. The Client’s account

1.1 Accuracy of information. The Client provides accurate and complete information at sign-up and keeps it up to date: billing details, email address, telephone number, domain name and designated representatives. Changes are made by the Client, from the client area (clients.astralinternet.com); no ordinary change requested by email, chat or telephone is made. The access recovery, identity verification and transfer procedures set out in sections 1.2 and 1.5 are an exception: they may be handled through an authenticated request to Astral Internet. Failure to keep this information up to date, or providing false information, may lead to suspension or termination of the account, with no refund or credit.

1.2 Account security. The Client is responsible for the confidentiality of passwords and access credentials, and for all activity carried out from the account, whether authorized or not. The Client notifies Astral Internet without delay of any unauthorized access. Astral Internet may refuse to change a password if the Client does not identify themselves adequately, and may require their signature. It is up to the Client to protect their software, files, data and equipment against the risks inherent in using the internet; to the extent permitted by law, Astral Internet is not liable for the consequences of that failure, subject to the tasks expressly included in the management level subscribed to. The allocation of security responsibilities follows section 11.7. The Client is likewise responsible for each user they authorize and add to the account — contacts, sub-accounts and representatives created from the client area — as for their own acts.

1.3 End users and representatives. “End users” are the persons the Client allows to use the Service, in particular their employees, agents and, where reselling is authorized, their own customers. The Client ensures that every person who uses the Service through their account or equipment — employees, subcontractors, consultants, designers, programmers, agents, volunteers, suppliers — is made aware of the Agreement and complies with it. The Client is responsible for any breach of the Agreement committed by these persons, whether or not the Client authorized their use. The Client keeps their representatives’ permissions up to date.

1.4 Communications. Astral Internet communicates with the Client at the primary email address on file: invoices, renewal notices and amendment notices are sent there. The Client ensures they receive it and may designate a secondary address independent of the Service. Astral Internet keeps a record of the sending; where it becomes aware of a delivery failure, it uses, where possible, another contact on file. A message whose delivery failure is known is not deemed received merely because it was sent. Formal notices are further governed by section 13.9.

1.5 Account holder, transfer and access recovery.

1. The account holder is the person whose name appears on the account file, even where a business name is also recorded there. Only the holder and the representatives they have designated in the account may act on it. The holder keeps those representatives, sub-accounts and access rights up to date. Where the holder acts for a business identified as the client, being designated as account administrator does not transfer to them any rights over that business’s assets.
2. The holder may transfer the account to another person — sale of the business, change of officer or any other reason — themselves, from the client area, at no charge. Where the transfer must be carried out by Astral Internet, the request includes the transfer form duly completed and signed by the current holder, identification of the new holder and, if the new holder acts for a business, the extract from the Registraire des entreprises establishing their authority; that transfer is charged at CAD $85.00. Amounts owing are settled before the transfer, and the new holder accepts the Agreement.
3. Exceptional recovery. If the holder has left the business without arranging the handover, or cannot be reached, an authorized representative of the business may request recovery of the account. They provide the documents establishing their identity, their authority to represent the business and the account’s connection to it. Astral Internet verifies these elements by independent means and attempts to reach the holder at the contact details already on file; the holder’s silence is not, in itself, sufficient to authorize the transfer. The information and access given to the new holder are limited to the account and to the Services for which the rights have been established. The CAD $85.00 fee provided for in paragraph 2 applies where recovery is granted and carried out by Astral Internet; reviewing a request that does not succeed is not charged.
4. Astral Internet may require any additional verification and may refuse, without incurring liability, a request it cannot verify to its satisfaction.
5. In the event of the holder’s death or dissolution, the liquidator or the representative of the succession acts upon production of the documents authorizing them to do so.
6. Astral Internet does not arbitrate disputes between persons claiming the same account. Where there is a credible challenge to the rights, it does not decide the dispute: it maintains the account as it stands, including renewals, until it receives joint written instructions from the authorized persons or a court order.

2. The services

2.1 Provision. Astral Internet may perform its obligations through its affiliates, its agents or its subcontractors (the “third-party suppliers”), without being released from its obligations under the Agreement.

2.2 Shared web hosting. Web hosting is provided on a shared server — Linux with cPanel (Essentiel and Élite plans) or Windows with Plesk (.NET Core plan), or any other control panel chosen by Astral Internet. The rules specific to shared hosting are in Appendix A, section 4. In addition:

1. The plans are designed to host the websites of an individual, a small business or an organization. Where a resource is described as “unlimited”, it is unlimited for the normal use of such a website, within the limits of Appendix A.
2. The websites hosted in a plan belong to the account holder. A shared plan is not to be used to resell hosting or to host third-party websites; a reseller plan or a VPS is required for that (section 10).
3. The SSL certificate included is a Let’s Encrypt certificate, issued only if the domain points to the hosting server. The Client redirects their own websites to their secure version, unless that task is included in the “SSL Installation and Maintenance” service subscribed to or included in their managed WordPress hosting, in accordance with part H of the Statement of Support. Where a large number of domains are hosted in a single plan, Astral Internet does not guarantee the issuance of a certificate for each of them.
4. Managed WordPress hosting is shared hosting to which are added the management services described in the Statement of Support (part M). The “SSL Installation and Maintenance” service is included for the Let’s Encrypt certificate provided, without a separate certificate purchase, in accordance with the services and limits of part H of that statement. A commercial certificate chosen in addition is billed separately. Available and compatible updates to supported components are applied at least once a month; additional maintenance may be carried out where a critical update is necessary. Astral Internet takes a backup before any work. Components incompatible with an update are not updated; the Client is notified. A rollback after an update must be requested within 48 hours.

2.3 Email hosting. The email hosting service is billed based on use, according to the storage used and the protocols enabled; the MAPI and EAS protocols are billed in addition. The consumption billed is the one measured when the invoice is issued, thirty (30) days before the Service due date for a renewal, at the rate on the product page applicable to the Client. It is neither an average nor the maximum reached during the period. Mailboxes have no maximum size. Sending limits and maximum message size are published on the product page. Each recipient of a message counts as one send; sends beyond the limit are queued and delivered afterwards. The rules governing email use are in Appendix A, section 2.

2.4 Reseller hosting. Reseller hosting (cPanel/WHM or Plesk .NET) is provided on a shared server and allows the Client to resell website hosting and the email services of that environment to their own customers. The reseller’s obligations are in section 10.

2.5 Virtual private servers. Astral Internet provides the virtual private server (VPS) on infrastructure capable of honouring the resources allocated. There are three service levels, described in the Statement of Support (part G):

1. Unmanaged VPS: the Client alone administers the operating system, the software, the firewall and the backups. Astral Internet manages the hardware and network access.
2. Managed VPS (including the Windows Plesk Server): Astral Internet installs the control panel, maintains the operating system, the panel and the base software provided when the server is delivered, configures the firewall and the initial backups, and monitors resources. The backup frequency and the number of copies that can be kept are communicated at activation, according to the resources and the service subscribed to; the configuration adopted is recorded on file.
3. Fully managed VPS: to the managed VPS are added real-time monitoring, alert handling at all times and support for advanced services. The SSL included uses the control panel’s tools, in particular Let’s Encrypt; it does not include the separate “SSL Installation and Maintenance” service of the Statement of Support.

On managed and fully managed VPS, available and compatible updates to supported components are applied at least once a month. Additional maintenance may be carried out where a critical update is necessary. The scope of the components and the incompatibilities are set out in part G of the Statement of Support and in section 6.6 of Appendix A. Software added afterwards by the Client is not automatically covered by this maintenance.

The services of the fully managed level may be added à la carte to the Windows Plesk Server; the options subscribed to and their rates are identified at the time of order. This description does not reduce higher coverage already subscribed to; any change to the scope purchased follows section 13.1. Support for managed and fully managed VPS is reserved to the account holder, as defined in section 1.5; the permissions given to their representatives to manage the account do not grant them that support service. Management presupposes that Astral Internet’s technicians access the server to apply the updates and the work included. The Client may restrict that access; Astral Internet then needs their authorization and their assistance in order to intervene, and the resulting delay is attributable to the Client, in particular for the purposes of section 6.2.

The rules specific to servers are in Appendix A, section 5. Astral Internet may disconnect a server whose activity threatens the security or stability of its network.

2.6 Domain names. The registration, transfer and renewal of domain names are governed by section 9.

2.7 SSL certificates.

1. The SSL certificates sold by Astral Internet are issued by the corresponding certification authority (DigiCert, Sectigo or another), through Astral Internet’s supplier. Their use is subject to that authority’s subscriber terms, depending on the type of certificate.
2. Issuance depends on validation of the domain, and sometimes of the organization, by the certification authority. The Client cooperates using a method accepted by that authority and offered by the supplier: DNS record, validation carried out by the Client from the email received, or required documents. Hosting the email with Astral Internet and handing over a mailbox password are not systematic conditions of the installation included. Absent the necessary cooperation, issuance and installation remain pending in accordance with part H of the Statement of Support.
3. Installation of a certificate purchased from Astral Internet is included on Astral Internet’s shared hosting, on the terms of the Statement of Support (part H). Installation elsewhere falls under webmaster services. This rule concerning purchased certificates is distinct from the handling of free certificates using the control panel’s tools on a fully managed VPS, under section 2.5 and part G of the statement.
4. A certificate is specific to the domain name for which it is issued. It is neither transferable nor refundable once issued.

2.8 Business Anti-Spam. The service filters incoming email for the Client’s domain, whose MX records are directed to Astral Internet’s anti-spam servers. Section 2.6 of Appendix A applies: a legitimate email held, not delivered or deleted by the filtering does not engage Astral Internet’s liability. The service is described in the Statement of Support (part I).

2.9 WSA: Website Accelerator. The WSA module is licensed, not sold. A licence is tied to a public IP address; private IP addresses are not accepted. Installing, using and updating the module require an active licence. When the licence becomes inactive, the module disables itself and the web server reverts to the basic Apache operation of the cPanel panel. The module does not have distinct specialized support; the Client may report a potential problem by ticket to notify the development team, in accordance with part K of the Statement of Support. The software remains the property of Astral Internet (section 11.2).

2.10 Advanced website monitoring. The service checks every minute, from two locations, for the presence of an agreed text on one of the Client’s pages. It is included in the fully managed VPS and offered as an option on the managed VPS and on shared hosting. On a VPS, a technician intervenes as soon as an alert is raised; on shared hosting, the Client receives the alert and a ticket is opened. An alert caused by Astral Internet’s infrastructure gives rise to no fees. Any other alert is billed at CAD $25.00, which includes opening a “Medium” priority ticket. The fifteen (15) minutes included in that rate are devoted to the initial handling of the alert and to opening the ticket; they are already used once that regular ticket is open. That ticket does not trigger the CAD $85.00 opening fee reserved for “Urgent” tickets under section 3.2.1. Any additional work time is billable at the rate in section 3.2.2, after the Client’s authorization and within the maximum time agreed under section 3.3. Work may continue in the existing “Medium” priority ticket. Urgent handling remains the Client’s choice, after the corresponding fees are presented and accepted; it does not grant a new fifteen-minute credit, and no work time is billed twice. Bringing the site back online is not included where the outage arises from handling or an update under the Client’s responsibility, including that of their content management system; debugging the site is not included. These exclusions do not cover management tasks or work that falls to Astral Internet.

2.11 Discontinued products. SiteLock protection is no longer offered to new clients. Clients who hold it continue to benefit from it on the terms of the Statement of Support (part J), for as long as they renew it.

2.12 Software and equipment requirements. To use the Service, the Client has at minimum:

• a computer running Windows 11, or macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later — in both cases, a version still supported by its publisher;
• a Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Edge browser, in its current or previous version;
• a high-speed internet connection;
• for email, software that supports TLS 1.3 or later.

Astral Internet does not guarantee that the Service will work on equipment or software that does not meet these requirements, or on software its publisher no longer supports.

3. Technical support and webmaster services

3.1 Support included. The Client reaches the support centre by ticket from the client area, by telephone at 1 877 667-0932 or 514-667-0932, by email at support@astralinternet.com, or by chat at www.astralinternet.com. What support covers and does not cover is described, product by product, in the Statement of Support; for the product and management level subscribed to, that list is incorporated into the Agreement in accordance with the Preamble. Tasks expressly entrusted to Astral Internet do not become the Client’s responsibility merely because of the general security obligations of Appendix A. Where an initial diagnosis is included, it serves to determine whether the problem falls within the services covered or within the Client’s environment. A task already included does not become billable merely because it also appears in the list of webmaster services. Specialized investigation or a correction outside the scope included requires the acceptance provided for in section 3.3. Astral Internet makes reasonable efforts to resolve problems according to their severity; a workaround may be offered pending a lasting solution. “Urgent” tickets are handled at all times; the others during the business hours published on the “Contact us” page, which Astral Internet may change. Configuring software on the Client’s devices — email software, a CRM, an FTP client — is not included.

3.2 Support fees.

1. An “Urgent” ticket that does not arise from a failure of the infrastructure or equipment under Astral Internet’s responsibility triggers an opening fee of CAD $85.00, billed to the account holder, plus the webmaster time spent at the rate in paragraph 2. Where the problem falls within Astral Internet’s infrastructure, no opening fee or webmaster fee is charged to resolve it. Advanced monitoring alerts fall under the separate rate in section 2.10; they are not automatically converted into “Urgent” tickets.
2. The hourly rate for webmaster services and for any work not included in support is CAD $115.00, calculated in 15-minute increments, that is CAD $28.75 per increment begun. The time required to estimate a task is billable; no estimate is produced before the acceptance provided for in section 3.3.
3. Restoring data from Astral Internet’s backups is a webmaster service, at the hourly rate.
4. Searches of the anti-spam service’s log files are included, per month, either for five requests each covering one address, or for a single request covering no more than seven addresses; the two formulas are not cumulative. Beyond that, they are billed at the hourly rate.

3.3 Webmaster services. Webmaster services — configuration, migration, optimization, cleanup, programming, restoration — are provided on request, by ticket, after acceptance of the fees and of the maximum time authorized. In the client area, the Client checks the “Webmaster Service” box and enters, in the field that follows it, the maximum time allotted to the technician for the work described. If the box is not checked or the maximum time is missing, Astral Internet asks for confirmation of these elements in the ticket before any billable work. Paid diagnosis, estimating and performing the work all count against the same cap. Before exceeding that cap or changing the agreed scope, work is stopped and a new authorization is requested and recorded in the ticket. These services are billed on request, with no subscription. Astral Internet does not guarantee that a task can be performed exactly as requested, since the complexity of a website or its environment may prevent it; the time spent remains payable. Services rendered are not refundable.

4. Fees and payment

4.1 Fees. The Client pays the non-recurring setup fees, if any, and the recurring fees of the plan chosen, as indicated at www.astralinternet.com at the time of the order (collectively, the “Fees”). Setup fees are payable on sign-up. For renewals, recurring fees are billed in advance: the invoice is issued thirty (30) days before the expiry date of the current period of the product or Service. That expiry date is the “Service due date” and is the deadline for paying the renewal; it is shown on the invoice. The automatic charge is made seven (7) days before that date, in accordance with section 5.2. Non-recurring fees for an upgrade are billed on the following period. All amounts are in Canadian dollars.

4.2 Payment methods. Astral Internet accepts Visa, Mastercard, PayPal (including American Express through PayPal), cheque and cash at its office. A cheque must be received before the due date of the invoice it pays; Astral Internet may refuse payment by cheque from a Client whose cheque has already been returned. A Client who records a card on file authorizes Astral Internet to charge the renewal fees to it in accordance with section 5.2.

4.3 Late payment. An amount unpaid on the Service due date bears interest at the rate of 1.5% per month (19.56% per year). The Client bears the reasonable costs incurred by Astral Internet to collect an overdue amount. The unpaid product or Service may be suspended as of its due date. If payment remains outstanding, the Service concerned and its hosted data may be deleted as of the fifteenth (15th) day following that date. The Client must not count on their availability after that period. Deletion and the possibilities of recovery are also governed by section 5.5. For a domain name, expiry, interruption of its operation, restoration and deletion are governed by section 9 and by the registry’s rules; the fifteen-day period does not replace that life cycle. Astral Internet is not liable for a loss of information occurring while a Service is suspended or after it has been deleted. Reactivating a Service suspended for non-payment is free of charge, upon payment in full. Except as otherwise provided in the Agreement, payments are non-refundable.

4.4 Chargebacks and NSF cheques. A chargeback requested by the Client from their card issuer, or a cheque returned for insufficient funds, results in a fee of CAD $50.00 in addition to the amount of the original invoice, and in the suspension of all Services on the account until payment in full.

4.5 Under-billing. Any billing error reported is reviewed. Where fees have not been billed or have been billed for an insufficient amount, Astral Internet corrects the invoice and sends the Client a corrected invoice stating the reason, the period concerned and the amount. Absent fraud by the Client, the Client is nevertheless not required to pay those fees unless they were correctly billed within one (1) year of the date on which they were incurred, for recurring fees, or one hundred and fifty (150) days, for non-recurring fees. That period is a commitment by Astral Internet more favourable to the Client than the applicable limitation period. Astral Internet charges no interest on the corrected amount and, if the Client cannot settle it promptly, attempts to negotiate a reasonable deferred payment arrangement. Closing the account does not prevent the correction of an invoice within those same periods.

4.6 Over-billing. Any billing error reported is reviewed. Where an amount has been collected in error or in excess, Astral Internet corrects the invoice and returns the overpayment to the Client, or credits it to their account with their agreement. The Client is invited to report the error promptly; this invitation reduces neither their rights nor the applicable limitation periods. Closing the account does not extinguish the right to restitution of an amount owed.

4.7 Invoicing. Astral Internet issues and sends its invoices in electronic form, to the email address on file and in the client area. No invoice is sent by mail.

4.8 Promotions. Unless otherwise indicated, a promotional price applies to the first term ordered only, whatever its length — for example one, two or three years. The Service then renews at the regular price indicated at the time of the order or validly changed in accordance with section 13.1, and restated on the renewal invoice. Promotional codes do not apply to renewals. Astral Internet may cancel a discount obtained through abusive use of a promotion.

4.9 Miscellaneous fees. Processing a founded abuse complaint concerning the Client is billed at CAD $150.00 per complaint where it reveals an infected website or one or more compromised mailboxes and requires work to contain the abuse and protect the network or the reputation of the IP addresses. An unverified allegation does not trigger these fees. The reason for the billing and the measures taken are communicated to the Client. No open-ended administrative surcharge is added. Separate cleanup or repair work requested by the Client falls under section 3.3. Redemption of an expired domain name is billed in accordance with section 9.5. These fees remain subject to the applicable mandatory rules.

5. Term, renewal, cancellation and termination

5.1 Term. The Service is provided for the term chosen at the time of the order — monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, yearly or multi-year up to ten (10) years — and renews for an equal term, on the conditions of section 5.2.

5.2 Renewal. Astral Internet issues the renewal invoice thirty (30) days before the Service due date and sends it to the email address on file. That due date is the expiry date of the current period of the product or Service. Where a card is recorded on file, the renewal is charged to that card seven (7) days before the due date; the invoice states the date of the charge. A Client who does not wish to renew cancels the Service from the client area before that charge; after that point, the renewal is acquired and is non-refundable, subject to sections 5.7, 6.1 and 13.1 and to the Client’s legal rights. Without a card on file, the Service is renewed upon receipt of payment before the due date; a payment received after the due date does not guarantee renewal, in particular for a domain name (section 9.3).

5.3 Cancellation by the Client. The Client may cancel a Service at any time from the client area. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current term; the fees for the term are not refunded, subject to sections 5.7, 6.1 and 13.1 and to the termination and refund rights conferred on the Client by law.

5.4 Termination or suspension by Astral Internet. Astral Internet may suspend or terminate the Service, with or without notice depending on the seriousness of the situation, and with no refund or credit, where:

1. an invoice is overdue;
2. the Client commits an act of insolvency, is the subject of proceedings under the laws governing creditors’ rights or of the appointment of a receiver, or does not meet Astral Internet’s solvency requirements;
3. the Client breaches the Agreement or one of the documents that form part of it, in particular the Acceptable Use Policy;
4. the Client has provided false or inaccurate information, or has not kept their file up to date;
5. the content of the Client’s Service, or of a website to which it gives access, is in Astral Internet’s view unlawful, misleading, obscene or contrary to Appendix A;
6. a script or software of the Client harms the server or the network (Appendix A, section 6);
7. the Client refuses the move provided for in section 5.6;
8. the Client’s activity threatens the security or stability of Astral Internet’s infrastructure or other clients’ use of the Service.

Where Astral Internet ends the Service because of the Client’s default, all amounts owing become immediately payable. Suspension or termination does not release the Client from the amounts owing up to its effective date, nor from the obligations that survive the Agreement (section 12.3).

5.5 End of Service and data. It is up to the Client to retrieve their data before the effective end of the Service, using the export or download tools available to them. They may request assistance under section 3.3 before that date; recovery after deletion is not guaranteed. A request to cancel at the end of a term does not, in itself, trigger deletion before that end of term.

In the event of non-payment, the special rule in section 4.3 applies: the data of the unpaid Service may be deleted as of fifteen (15) days after its due date. In other cases, as of the effective end of the Service, Astral Internet may delete the hosted data attached to it — files, databases, email and mailing lists. On shared, WordPress, reseller and email hosting, that deletion occurs no later than thirty (30) days after the effective end and may occur as of that end; on a VPS, it occurs immediately. These periods do not constitute a guaranteed access or recovery window.

The end of one Service does not, in itself, delete the data of the other active Services on the account. Astral Internet’s administrative file and billing history are distinct from the hosted data. Residual copies are eliminated in accordance with the backup cycle; legally required retention remains reserved. For a VPS, the snapshots of the deleted volume are replaced by the normal cycle within the following hours, as the last snapshots kept are renewed; a backup configured to external storage is deleted in turn after the server. A Client who requests it by technical support ticket, at the time a server is closed, receives in that ticket written confirmation of the erasure once the data has been officially erased from the data centre. The life cycle of a domain name is governed by section 9.

5.6 Move to a specialized service. Where a Client’s Service harms the proper operation of a shared server, gives rise to complaints from other users, or exceeds — through its traffic or its storage — what a shared server can offer it, Astral Internet may require it to be moved to a specialized service — a virtual private server or a higher plan — or restrict the resources it uses. Astral Internet may end the Service of a Client who refuses that move. Where the Client does not respond to the request to move, Astral Internet may, fifteen (15) days after that request has gone unanswered, itself move the Service to the higher plan or to a virtual private server; the fees for the new Service are then payable.

5.7 Prolonged failure to provide the Service. Where a Service is unavailable for thirty (30) consecutive days for a cause attributable to Astral Internet, the Client may terminate that Service by written notice. Astral Internet then refunds them, in money and by the original method of payment, the fees paid in advance for the period not delivered, as of the first day of unavailability; credits already granted under section 6.2 for that period are deducted. This remedy gives rise to no other compensation (section 12.2).

6. Warranties

6.1 30-day money-back guarantee.

This commercial courtesy guarantee allows the Client to try the eligible products and to request cancellation without having to justify their dissatisfaction. It is in addition to the rights conferred on them by law, and does not limit them.

1. The guarantee applies to the first purchase of a shared web hosting plan — Essentiel, Élite or .NET Core — or of the Business Anti-Spam service. It applies neither to renewals nor to other Services.
2. A dissatisfied Client requests the refund from the client area within thirty (30) days following activation of the plan or service.
3. Only the fees for the plan or service concerned are refunded. The products and services purchased with it — domain name, SSL certificate, email hosting, webmaster services, options — are not. Where Astral Internet technicians have carried out a migration or any other work, the corresponding fees are deducted from the amount refunded.
4. The refund is, as a general rule, credited to the Client’s account as a credit applicable to their next purchases. Where it is paid in money, it is paid by the original method of payment; a payment made by cheque or in cash is refunded by cheque.

6.2 99.95% availability guarantee.

1. Astral Internet guarantees, for shared web hosting, WordPress hosting, reseller hosting and virtual private servers, monthly availability of 99.95%. The measurement relies on two distinct probes, one internal and one external, which check the response and operation of the server providing the Service. It does not rely on the content or operation of the Client’s website or application. The failure of a Client’s application does not therefore, in itself, constitute unavailability of the server. Astral Internet reconciles the probe results with technical checks to establish the start and end of the outage.
2. Where availability in a month is below 99.95%, the Client is entitled to a credit equal to the monthly hosting fees for the Service affected, pro-rated to the time during which that Service was unavailable. For a term paid in advance covering several months, the monthly fees correspond to the amount paid for the Service affected, spread over the number of months in the term. The credit for the month equals those monthly fees multiplied by the number of hours of eligible unavailability during the month, divided by the total number of hours in that month; fractions of an hour are taken into account. The credit is requested by ticket within thirty (30) days following the end of the outage; a single request covers all the months a given outage affected. The credit for a month may not exceed one hundred percent (100%) of the monthly fees for the Service affected; it is applied to future invoices and is not paid in money. The total credits granted for a given outage do not exceed the caps in section 12.2.1.
3. The following are not counted as unavailability: maintenance periods announced at least twenty-four (24) hours in advance; the application of a critical update following a recently discovered vulnerability, even without notice; interruptions attributable to the Client — their scripts, their configuration, their DNS records, their use of resources; a suspension provided for in the Agreement; a case of force majeure (section 13.2); a failure of the internet network outside Astral Internet’s equipment; a failure of third-party software installed by the Client and under their responsibility.
4. The guarantee does not apply to domain names, SSL certificates, anti-spam or email hosting.

6.3 No other warranties. Except as provided in sections 6.1 and 6.2, Astral Internet does not warrant that the Service will be free of interruptions or errors, and may interrupt it from time to time to ensure its proper operation. It warrants neither the content, nor the availability, nor the accuracy of any information — data, files, email, content — to which the Client or their end users have access or give access through the Service. To the extent permitted by law, the warranties in the Agreement replace any other warranty, express, implied or statutory, including of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, and availability or reliability of the Service. This section does not set aside the legal warranties that cannot be waived, nor the obligations Astral Internet has expressly assumed in the Agreement, in particular those of the management level subscribed to.

7. Backups

7.1 Client’s responsibility. The Client ensures that their files, databases and email are adequately backed up and can be recovered in the event of a failure. They carry out their own regular backups, keep a copy outside the Service, and do not rely exclusively on Astral Internet’s backups.

7.2 Astral Internet’s backups. Astral Internet carries out, for its own business continuity, the following backups:

Snapshots represent the state of the SAN volumes; they are not a backup of files selected per account. Their existence guarantees neither the individual restoration of a file, mailbox or account, nor direct Client access to those images. No other backup is provided on an unmanaged VPS, unless an option is subscribed to.

Neither the integrity, nor the frequency, nor the availability of these backups is guaranteed; they may be unavailable in the event of a major equipment failure.

7.3 Exclusions from shared-account backups. The following exclusions concern only the backups of shared, WordPress and reseller hosting accounts, and not the SAN snapshots:

These thresholds define the coverage of the account backup; they are not the usage quotas of the plan, which are published on the product page. The Client remains required to carry out the backups in section 7.1, including of the excluded items.

7.4 Restoration. Restoring data from Astral Internet’s backups is requested by ticket and is billed at the hourly rate in section 3.2.

8. Website migration

8.1 Courtesy. On shared Linux web hosting subscribed to for a term of one (1) year or more, Astral Internet migrates the Client’s website from their former provider free of charge, to the extent of a reasonable effort. As every provider is different, Astral Internet guarantees neither the feasibility, nor the timing, nor the outcome of the migration.

8.2 Request. The migration is requested at the time of the order or by ticket within thirty (30) days following activation, providing full access to the account with the former provider.

8.3 Scope. The free migration does not cover email, except from one cPanel to another cPanel. It does not cover the sub-accounts of a reseller plan; migrating them is billed at the hourly rate after authorization under section 3.3. Where a website presents complications — size, particular configuration, incompatible platform — Astral Internet notifies the Client and offers them, where appropriate, a migration at the hourly rate; no fees are incurred without the Client’s consent. For complex websites, Astral Internet recommends its webmaster services.

8.4 Windows hosting. Migration to ASP.NET Core hosting or to a Plesk Server is billed at the hourly rate in section 3.2.

8.5 Refund. Where the Client relies on section 6.1, the fees for a migration carried out by Astral Internet are deducted from the refund.

9. Domain names

9.1 Registrar. Astral Internet determines, at its discretion, the accredited registrar through which a domain name is registered — CentralNic or any other registrar it designates. The Client can identify that registrar using a WHOIS or RDAP registration data lookup tool, depending on the extension, or by asking Astral Internet. The registration and use of a domain name are subject to the Agreement as well as to the terms of the registrar and of the registry for the extension, published on their respective websites. For the generic extensions concerned, the applicable ICANN policies apply; for .CA, the CIRA rules apply. Other country-code extensions follow the rules of their own registry. The terms and restrictions specific to the extension ordered are identified or made accessible before the order; an exhaustive list of all extensions is not reproduced in the Agreement. The Client is responsible for checking whether an extension has particular requirements, on registration as on renewal, and for meeting them; Astral Internet is not responsible for a domain that cannot be registered or renewed for failure to comply with them.

9.2 Availability and registration. Astral Internet registers available domain names. It does not guarantee the accuracy of the results of its search tool. Payment for a registration does not immediately guarantee the registration; the registration is confirmed to the Client by email once completed.

9.3 Renewal. The Client is solely responsible for renewing their domain names before they expire. Astral Internet sends renewal notices and invoices before the expiry date, attempts the renewal upon receipt of payment, and confirms it by email. Astral Internet cannot guarantee the renewal of a domain whose invoice was paid after the expiry date.

9.4 Expired domain. In most cases, an expired domain name can be renewed up to thirty (30) days after its expiry date, at the regular rate. Depending on the extension, Astral Internet cannot however guarantee that renewal; it makes reasonable efforts to obtain it, without any guarantee of result.

9.5 Redemption. After that period — and sometimes before, depending on the extension — the domain name may enter a redemption period. The operations possible during that period, in particular restoration, renewal or transfer, depend on the rules and on the domain’s status with the registry concerned. The Client may request its reactivation during the period when this is still permitted, at a cost of CAD $375.00 — or less, according to the fees the registrar requires — plus registration fees and taxes.

9.6 Transfer. Transferring a domain name to Astral Internet requires that the domain be unlocked with the current registrar, that the Client provide the required authorization code, generally called the EPP code, and that the registry’s and registrar’s conditions be met. A sixty (60) day waiting period after a registration or a transfer applies only to the extensions and situations that require it. The price of the transfer and its effect on the registration period are indicated before the order. Where a renewal year is included, it is added subject to the registry’s rules and maximum duration. For .CA, CIRA provides for the addition of one year upon a change of registrar, up to the maximum duration of ten (10) years and subject to its rules. Processing time varies with the extension, the domain’s status and the validations required.

To transfer a domain to another provider, the holder may request the unlock and the authorization code from the client area or through an authenticated request. Astral Internet handles the request in accordance with the rules and time limits applicable to the domain; a transfer restriction must rest on a ground permitted by those rules.

9.7 Registration data and contact protection. Registering a domain name involves transmitting the necessary contact details to the registrar and to the registry. Whether they are published or masked in the WHOIS or RDAP directories depends on the laws and rules of the extension. Masking required by those rules is distinct from an optional contact protection service. Contact protection is offered for the extensions that allow it; its cost depends on the extension and is shown before payment. The Privacy Policy says more about this.

9.8 Domain agent. A Client who holds a domain name with Astral Internet authorizes it to act as domain name agent to approve, on their behalf, changes to the domain’s contact details requested from their client area. The Client remains the holder of the domain.

9.9 Refund. Once registered, transferred or renewed, domain names are neither refundable nor creditable under Astral Internet’s commercial guarantees: these completed operations incur fees with the registrar or the registry. This rule does not limit a refund required by law, nor the remedies applicable in the event of an unauthorized operation or of a fault by Astral Internet.

9.10 Liability. Astral Internet is not liable for losses caused by the incorrect configuration or use of a domain name. Its liability with respect to a domain name is limited to the fees paid for its registration, transfer or renewal.

10. Resellers

10.1 Reselling. A Client holding a reseller hosting plan or a VPS may resell to their own customers the website hosting and email services provided in that environment, within the limits of the plan and of the applicable licences. This authorization does not permit the uses prohibited by Appendix A, in particular spamming and prohibited VPN or proxy services. Reselling these resources from an ordinary shared plan or a standalone email service is not authorized. Selling the Client’s own products or services on their website is not, in itself, a resale of hosting.

10.2 Reseller’s responsibility. The reseller ensures that each of their customers complies with the Agreement and Appendix A, and enforces them. They are answerable to Astral Internet for any act or omission of their customers as for their own, and indemnify Astral Internet under section 12.1 for any claim arising from them. Where an account hosted by the reseller breaches Appendix A, Astral Internet notifies the reseller; absent a response from them within twenty-four (24) hours, it may suspend that account, without suspending the reseller plan. That period does not prevent immediate action where a compromise, malicious content or another threat makes it necessary to protect the network, nor a legally required measure. The measure targets the sub-account concerned; a broader suspension must be justified by a risk affecting the plan or the infrastructure as a whole. Section 5.4 remains applicable within these limits.

10.3 Support. The reseller provides first-line support to their customers. Astral Internet supports the reseller; it does not provide direct support to the reseller’s customers who contact it.

10.4 Backups. Backups and their exclusions (section 7) apply to the reseller plan according to the mechanism concerned. Account backups are subject to the same exclusions as shared hosting, assessed separately for each hosting sub-account. One sub-account exceeding a threshold does not, in itself, exclude the backups of the other sub-accounts. SAN snapshots do not carry these exclusions. Backups of a VPS used for reselling follow the VPS rules in section 7.

11. Content, ownership and IP addresses

11.1 Client content. The Client assumes full responsibility for the content of their Service — information, data, files, databases, email, images, personally identifiable content (collectively, the “Information”). That content does not belong to Astral Internet. The Client’s rights in their websites, files, email, databases and server content remain theirs, subject to third-party rights. Astral Internet does not continuously monitor that content. Where it finds reasonable indications of phishing, hacking, infection, distribution of malware or a comparable threat, it may immediately, without notice, isolate the content, disable the application, block sending or suspend the Service concerned to the extent necessary to protect persons, the network and other clients. It then notifies the Client as soon as circumstances permit. These measures do not require waiting for the Client’s response or obtaining a court order.

Other reports of disputed content are examined according to their nature and the applicable legal obligations; receiving a complaint does not in itself establish that it is founded. Absent an immediate threat or a different legal deadline, the Client responds to a reasoned request for explanations concerning content within seven (7) calendar days following its receipt. They may provide supporting evidence of their rights or voluntarily remove the content. Absent a response, Astral Internet may, after reviewing the available material and to the extent permitted by law, temporarily restrict access to the content concerned alone where that measure is justified. A mere allegation, or the Client’s silence, does not in itself constitute an admission of infringement. Legal obligations to forward, retain and execute a judicial act remain applicable. Communications to third parties are governed by section 11.6. The Client bears the fees provided for in the Agreement that validly apply to their breach.

11.2 Ownership of the Service. Astral Internet retains at all times title to the hardware, software and documents belonging to it. Third-party software, in particular cPanel, Plesk and WHMCS, remains the property of their respective publishers or rights holders; Astral Internet retains its contractual rights to provide and manage the service and the corresponding licences. The Client receives the rights of use necessary for the Service subscribed to, in accordance with the applicable licences, without acquiring ownership of that software. This provision transfers to Astral Internet no ownership right in the Client content described in section 11.1.

11.3 Astral Internet’s trademarks and website. The names “Astral Internet”, “Astral Internet Canada” and the associated logos are trademarks of Astral Internet; their use without its written consent is prohibited. The content of www.astralinternet.com — text, images, arrangement — is protected by copyright; it may be consulted for personal use, but not copied or reused.

11.4 IP addresses. Astral Internet assigns the Client an IP address of which it retains control and ownership. The Client uses it only with Astral Internet’s authorization, and Astral Internet may change or remove it at its discretion. For their scripts and automated tasks, the Client uses their domain name rather than the IP address, which may change without notice.

11.5 Logo licence. For the term of the Agreement, the Client grants Astral Internet a limited licence to use their logo, in order to reproduce it on www.astralinternet.com in a portfolio-type section. Before the first use of the logo, Astral Internet requests it from the Client; the licence takes effect upon their agreement, and the Client may withdraw it at any time by written notice.

11.6 Information about the Client. Astral Internet preserves the confidentiality of non-public information about the Client and their end users obtained under the Agreement. The access and transmissions necessary to provide the Service requested by the Client are limited to that purpose and to authorized persons and suppliers, in particular for registering a domain, routing and filtering email. They do not constitute a general authorization to disclose that information to third parties unconnected with performing the Service.

For an external request from an authority or a third party seeking the disclosure of non-public information about the Client or their content, Astral Internet first requires a valid warrant or order from a court of competent jurisdiction. An informal request is not sufficient. Disclosure is limited to what that act requires; the Client is informed of it where the law permits. This requirement does not prevent a disclosure directly imposed on Astral Internet by a mandatory legal provision, even without an order. The Privacy Policy describes the other processing arrangements.

11.7 Content security and data breaches. The Client maintains the security of the software, scripts, extensions, configurations and access under their administration, as well as of the personal information they process in the Service. They apply security patches, use strong and unique passwords, protect their credentials and keep their representatives’ access up to date in accordance with section 1.3. They are answerable for the consequences of a failure to meet these obligations to the extent that the failure caused the incident or the damage, and indemnify Astral Internet under section 12.1.

To the extent permitted by law, Astral Internet is not liable for consequences attributable to a vulnerable component administered by the Client, to a configuration they control, or to the compromise of their access, where that compromise does not result from a failure by Astral Internet. This allocation does not relieve Astral Internet of its own obligations, in particular the tasks expressly included in the management level subscribed to. Each party carries out the notices and other legal obligations incumbent on it, in particular towards the individuals concerned and the authorities.

12. Indemnification, limitation of liability and survival

12.1 Indemnification. The Client undertakes to indemnify, defend and hold harmless Astral Internet, its affiliates, its agents, its third-party suppliers and their respective directors, officers and employees, in respect of any claim, damage, liability, judgment, settlement and cost, including reasonable legal fees, resulting or arising from:

1. the Client’s content — in particular any allegation of infringement of a copyright, a patent, a trademark, a trade secret or any other proprietary right, of false advertising, unfair competition, defamation, invasion of privacy, breach of publicity rights or of the protection of personal information, obscene content, or the presence of a virus;
2. use of the Service by the Client or their end users, transmission of the Information, or disclosure of confidential or personal information the Client was required not to disclose;
3. any third-party claim, including from an end user or a reseller’s customer, in connection with the Service or with the equipment and software relating to it;
4. the Client’s failure to comply with the Agreement.

This obligation covers only claims that result from facts attributable to the Client or their end users; it is reduced in proportion to the share attributable to a fault of Astral Internet. Astral Internet notifies the Client without undue delay of any claim covered, allows them to conduct the defence with counsel of their choice, and is entitled to participate in it at its own expense. A settlement that imposes an obligation on the Client or attributes fault to them is not binding on them without their written consent, which is not to be withheld without reasonable grounds.

12.2 Limitation of liability.

1. Astral Internet’s liability, and the exclusive remedy of the Client and their end users, in the event of failure to provide the Service is limited to repairing or adjusting the Service or, where that is impossible, to an equitable credit not exceeding the fees billed for the failing part of the Service, up to twelve (12) months of fees for the Service affected — three (3) months for a virtual private or dedicated server. Section 5.7 further applies to prolonged failure to provide the Service.
2. For any other claim, Astral Internet’s liability, whatever the cause and the form of action, is limited to the damages proven to be directly attributable to it, and in no case exceeds the total of the monthly fees paid by the Client during the period in which those damages were caused, that period not to exceed three (3) months.
3. Astral Internet, its agents, its suppliers and its subcontractors are in no case liable to the Client or to a third party for indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages, nor for losses of any nature whatsoever — loss of profit, loss of revenue, loss of data, loss of use of a system, loss of anticipated savings or any other commercial or economic loss — whether the claim is based on negligence, civil liability, contract, statute or any other legal theory, even if Astral Internet was advised of the possibility of such a loss.
4. Astral Internet assumes no liability in relation to the use of the Service together with a service, product or equipment of the Client or of a third party, nor in relation to the Client’s failure to perform their obligations.
5. The limitations and exclusions in this section do not apply to Astral Internet’s intentional fault or gross fault, nor to bodily or moral injury, nor to the extent the law does not permit them to be stipulated.
6. The Client acknowledges that these limitations are fair and reasonable in the commercial context of the Agreement, and that Astral Internet would not have entered into the Agreement without them.

12.3 Survival. Sections 4 (amounts owing), 11, 12 and 13 survive the termination or expiry of the Agreement, as does any provision that, by its nature, must survive in order to have effect.

13. General provisions

13.1 Amendment of the Agreement and of the Service. The administrative billing arrangements, the rules of use and the technical features of the Service may be changed to the extent permitted by law, as may the price applicable to a future period. The price, the nature of the Service and the duration of a fixed-term consumer contract are not changed unilaterally during the term.

Any change covered by this section is the subject of an individual written notice, sent to the Client at least thirty (30) days before it takes effect. That notice contains exclusively the new or amended clauses, their previous version, the effective date and the Client’s rights of refusal. Merely updating the Agreement or a page of the website does not take the place of that notice.

If the change increases the Client’s obligations or reduces those of Astral Internet, the Client may refuse it and terminate at no charge by sending their notice no later than thirty (30) days after it takes effect. Use of the Service during that period does not constitute a waiver of that right.

A Client who terminates the Service because of their refusal may request a refund in money of the portion of the prepaid amount corresponding to the period between the effective date of termination and the end of the paid period. The pro rata is calculated on the price actually paid for the Service affected and the time remaining; no termination fee is deducted from it. The refund is made by the original method of payment, or by cheque for a payment in cash or by cheque. This rule takes precedence over the general refund exclusions in sections 4.3, 5.2 and 5.3. Domain operations already carried out remain governed by section 9.9, subject to the Client’s legal rights.

Only Astral Internet may amend the Agreement.

13.2 Force majeure. Except for payment obligations, a party prevented from performing the Agreement, in whole or in part, by an unforeseeable and irresistible event, or by an external cause presenting those same characteristics, is excused to the extent and for the duration of the impediment. The examples below constitute force majeure only if they meet those criteria in light of the circumstances and of the commitments of the party concerned. These circumstances include, without limitation: fire, explosion, power failure, earthquake, flood and any natural disaster; war, revolution, civil unrest and acts of public enemies; the effect of a law, order, regulation, ruling or requirement of a government or legislative body; labour unrest, strike, work-to-rule, picketing or boycott; a cyberattack presenting the characteristics set out above. A power failure or a cyberattack therefore does not automatically constitute force majeure. The affected party makes commercially reasonable efforts to end the causes of non-performance as soon as possible; the excuse is reassessed daily. Where such an impediment deprives the Client of a Service for one (1) month or more, the fees for that Service are suspended for the entire duration of the impediment, as of its first day; the fees paid in advance for that period are credited to the Client.

13.3 Assignment. Astral Internet may assign its rights and obligations without the Client’s consent. The Client may not assign the Agreement without Astral Internet’s prior written consent; any assignment without that consent is void.

13.4 Entire agreement. The Agreement, its appendices and the documents it incorporates constitute the entire understanding between the Client and Astral Internet on its subject matter, and replace any prior agreement, understanding or representation. A purchase order or any other document produced by the Client is deemed to be for their internal use and does not amend the Agreement.

13.5 Application. The Agreement binds the parties, their successors and their permitted assigns, and applies to their benefit.

13.6 Governing law and courts. The Agreement is governed by the laws of the province of Québec if the Client or their representative is located in Québec at the time of sign-up, or of Ontario if they are located in Ontario or elsewhere, as well as by the laws of Canada applicable therein, without regard to conflict of laws rules. The parties acknowledge the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Montréal (Québec) or Toronto (Ontario), according to the applicable law.

13.7 Interpretation. Headings are for reference and do not affect the interpretation of the Agreement.

13.8 No waiver. No waiver of a provision, a breach or a default is valid unless it is in writing and signed by the party waiving it, and no waiver applies to a subsequent breach, whether of the same nature or not.

13.9 Notices. Every notice is given in writing and sent by email to the primary address on the Client’s file or, for Astral Internet, to support@astralinternet.com, or delivered by hand. It is deemed received when its addressee receives it; a notice whose delivery failure is known to the sender is not deemed received merely because it was sent, and the sender then uses, where possible, another contact on file. Legal notification rules and the particular arrangements of section 13.1 prevail over this section.

13.10 Severability. The nullity, illegality or unenforceability of a provision does not affect the other provisions of the Agreement.

13.11 Language. The parties have agreed that the Agreement be drawn up in French. Les parties ont convenu que la Convention soit rédigée en français. The English version is provided as a convenience only; in the event of a dispute or of any discrepancy between the two versions, the French version prevails.

13.12 Respectful communications. Any form of verbal or written abuse towards Astral Internet’s employees, suppliers, agents or representatives is prohibited and may result in suspension of the Service.

13.13 Affiliate program. The terms of Astral Internet’s affiliate program are published at www.astralinternet.com/programme-affilie/ and bind every participant in the program.

Appendix A — Acceptable Use Policy

Astral Internet is committed to being a good network citizen. To help it protect the usefulness of the internet and allow its users to benefit from it, the Client complies with this Acceptable Use Policy (the “Policy”). Any breach of the Policy constitutes a violation of the Agreement and may result in suspension or termination of the Service, under section 5.4 of the Agreement. Astral Internet reserves the right to define what constitutes abusive use of the Service, in particular on the basis of its impact on the network, the databases, email storage, spamming and processor use.

Questions and reports: abuse@astralinternet.com.

Definition. An “internet host” is any computer or device connected to the internet. Terms not defined here have the meaning given to them in the Agreement.

1. General

1.1 The Service is intended for the needs of the Client’s own operations. Except under a reseller hosting plan or a VPS, in accordance with section 10 of the Agreement, reselling its hosting or email resources to third parties is prohibited. This prohibition does not cover the sale, on the Client’s website, of their own products or services other than the resale of Astral Internet’s resources.

1.2 Statements or acts constituting harassment or mistreatment — verbal, written or otherwise — towards Astral Internet’s employees, suppliers, agents or representatives are prohibited.

1.3 It is prohibited to use the Service to carry on an activity that includes, without limitation:

1. sending unsolicited messages that, in Astral Internet’s sole discretion, cause disruption or give rise to complaints;
2. preventing any other user from enjoying the internet, interfering with the operation of the Service or placing an exceptional burden on the network, or generating traffic levels that impair other users’ ability to send or receive information;
3. posting, transmitting or distributing information that targets or encourages conduct that would constitute a criminal offence or give rise to civil liability, or using the Service in a manner contrary to law;
4. carrying on any activity, commercial or otherwise, that would be unlawful, or soliciting any unlawful or defamatory activity or one contrary to an Astral Internet policy;
5. posting or sending spam: unsolicited email, inappropriate messages in discussion groups, misleading commercial messages, mail bombing and any abusive use of mail servers or discussion groups;
6. reselling bandwidth or any other part of the Service, including IP addresses, outside the reselling uses authorized on a reseller plan or a VPS by section 10.1 of the Agreement;
7. using the Service to mask third parties’ IP addresses, or to share files, by means of a virtual private network (VPN) or a proxy — subject to section 5.1 for Servers;
8. harassing users or groups, including defamation, abuse, criminal harassment, threats and any other violation of third-party rights;
9. impersonating subscribers of Astral Internet or of any other provider;
10. downloading, transmitting, posting, distributing, storing, reproducing or distributing information, software or material that is protected by copyright or another intellectual property right without the authorization of its holder; that is defamatory or obscene, or contains child pornography or hate literature; or that constitutes an invasion of privacy, an appropriation of personality, or unauthorized linking or framing;
11. falsifying or removing authorship notices, legal notices or designations of origin of software or of a file;
12. distributing any program or information designed to circumvent copy protection or any anti-theft mechanism of commercial software or shareware, or to facilitate the fraudulent use of telecommunications services;
13. the unauthorized use of the resources of an internet host, including sending chain letters or easy-money or pyramid-type offers;
14. posting or transmitting information or software containing a virus, a cancelbot, a Trojan horse, a worm or any other destructive component;
15. transmitting, storing or distributing any program or information that constitutes or promotes a criminal offence or would give rise to civil proceedings;
16. breaching any other applicable law or regulation.

2. Electronic mail

2.1 Astral Internet’s email services — whether included in a hosting plan or subscribed to as email hosting — are intended for the needs of the Client’s own operations. Licensing, distributing, transferring or selling them is prohibited, except for the email provided in a reseller plan or a VPS and resold in accordance with section 10.1 of the Agreement. That authorization remains subject to the rules against spamming and other abusive uses.

2.2 The Client uses email to send and receive appropriate messages and documents. In particular, they refrain from:

1. creating a false identity to mislead third parties, or falsifying the headers of their messages;
2. copying, downloading or providing to anyone, free of charge or otherwise, a directory of the service’s users or any information about them;
3. promoting or facilitating the sending of unsolicited messages;
4. attaching an excessively long signature to their messages;
5. sending messages to disrupt or interfere with others’ receipt of messages;
6. departing from the generally recognized rules of “netiquette” in discussion groups.

2.3 Sending limits.

• Shared and reseller hosting: the sending caps and their scope per account or per plan are published on the product page. Sends beyond the limit are not delivered.
• Standalone email hosting: the sending caps per domain and the maximum size of a message are published on the product page. Each recipient counts as one send; the excess is queued and delivered afterwards.
• The Client does not attempt to circumvent these limits by combining several accounts.

2.4 A Client who maintains an opt-in mailing list has a method of confirming subscriptions and provides proof of it at Astral Internet’s request; failing that, the messages may be treated as unsolicited. Astral Internet may, at its discretion, limit the number of recipients, of subscribers to a list and of messages sent or received.

2.5 Astral Internet and its suppliers are not required to monitor email; access to messages is limited to what is necessary for routing, agreed filtering, work authorized by the Client or protection of the Service against abuse or a security incident. Only authorized persons and suppliers may access them for those purposes. Astral Internet may quarantine, block or remove a malicious message and suspend a compromised mailbox without notice where protecting the Service requires it; it then informs the Client as soon as circumstances permit. Other modifications or deletions must be necessary for one of the purposes above or authorized by the Client. External requests for the disclosure of information follow section 11.6 of the Agreement, in particular the requirement of a warrant or court order, subject to the legal reservation set out there.

2.6 Astral Internet makes reasonable efforts to reduce the junk mail received, on all Services that filter it — shared hosting, email hosting, managed and fully managed servers, Business Anti-Spam. No filter can predict with certainty that a legitimate email will be taken for spam: Astral Internet is not liable for an email classified as junk, held, not delivered to its addressee or deleted from the server.

2.7 The Client chooses and protects the passwords of their mailboxes; Astral Internet does not control them and, to the extent permitted by law, is not liable for unauthorized access to a mailbox or for its consequences where that access does not result from a failure on its part. The allocation established in section 11.7 of the Agreement applies. Where it has reasonable grounds to believe that a mailbox is compromised — mass sending, complaints, abnormal logins — Astral Internet may change its password or suspend it without notice, in order to protect the reputation of the server and of the Client’s domain; it then notifies the Client.

3. Adult content

Adult content is not tolerated on shared hosting. Lawful adult content is accepted on virtual private servers.

4. Shared hosting and reseller hosting

4.1 Ownership of the websites. A shared hosting plan hosts only the websites belonging to the account holder. It is prohibited to use it to resell hosting, directly or otherwise; to host, in whole or in part, websites of customers, partners, subcontractors or any other third party; or to set up development, test or pre-production environments for third-party projects, including by subdomain. Plans that allow several domains reserve them for the same owner. Reselling requires a reseller plan or a virtual private server. The restriction to websites of a single owner does not apply to a reseller plan as a whole: each sub-account may host the websites of the end customer to which it is assigned, in accordance with section 4.11.

4.2 Unlimited. The plans are designed for most personal, small-business and organization websites; that is why bandwidth is unlimited and some plans offer unlimited disk space and websites. These resources are unlimited for the normal use of such a website, in compliance with this Policy. Where the use of a website presents a risk to the stability, performance or availability of the servers, storage, network or any other infrastructure, section 5.6 of the Agreement applies.

4.3 Use of storage. Hosting storage serves to display and operate the website. The data necessary to its operation and to processing current requests, in particular forms, their attachments and the documents relating to active transactions, are permitted within the limits of the plan.

Data becomes an inactive archive when it is no longer necessary to process the request or transaction concerned nor to the day-to-day operation of the website. Inactive archives, including form submissions and their attachments, may be kept for at most ninety (90) days after the end of their processing, within a cumulative limit of 1 GB per hosting account or reseller sub-account. The volume includes the files and the corresponding data kept in the database. Both limits apply simultaneously.

The Client configures the retention and carries out the export or deletion of their archives. If longer or larger retention is necessary to them, in particular to meet a legal obligation, they use suitable storage. Astral Internet does not provide an automatic purge service under this clause.

Development, test or pre-production environments actually used for the website are permitted within the limits of the plan and of section 4.1. Storing abandoned copies, personal files unrelated to the website, or backups is prohibited, subject to the temporary backup permitted in section 4.5. The hosting is not to be used as a video or music streaming or distribution platform. Where the archiving or storage rules are exceeded, Astral Internet notifies the Client and allows them fifteen (15) days to correct the situation before applying the measures provided for in the Agreement or removing the non-compliant items. Immediate action remains possible where there is a risk to the security or stability of the Service.

4.4 Large files. The maximum file size and the limits applicable to media — formats, encoding, dimensions, resolution and bit rate — are published on the product page. Images intended for display are sized for the web. Images and videos that exceed the limits applicable to the Client may be resized or re-encoded without notice.

4.5 Client backups on the server. A backup made by the Client on the server is permitted on a temporary basis, by exception to section 4.3. Only one backup at a time may be kept per hosting account or reseller sub-account, for at most twenty-four (24) hours from its creation. The Client exports it out of the Service and then deletes it within that period. It is created outside peak hours, between 8 p.m. and 7 a.m., Québec local time. This permission does not remove the file size and resource limits of the plan.

4.6 Files and directories. The limits on the number of files per directory, on inodes on Linux — files and folders, including email — or on files and folders on Windows, as well as the permitted storage growth and the included email quotas, are published on the product page. Beyond the applicable limits, performance may be reduced and section 5.6 of the Agreement may apply.

4.7 Databases. The maximum sizes and numbers of tables applicable to MySQL and Microsoft SQL databases are published on the product page. The holder of a database that exceeds these limits is notified and must reduce it; the database or the account may be suspended, temporarily or permanently.

4.8 Resources. A shared hosting account does not use more resources than an ordinary website in normal operation requires. The resources allocated — processor, memory, disk, bandwidth and simultaneous processes — their limits and the measurement periods are published on the product page. An account that exceeds these limits and threatens the stability of the Service may be interrupted without notice to prevent a degradation of service; this type of problem is often solved by correcting a script, disabling a resource-hungry application or blocking malicious IP addresses. A Client who systematically uses excessive resources will see their account taken offline at times, and may be required to make the move provided for in section 5.6 of the Agreement.

4.9 Cron jobs. The number of jobs, their frequency, the spacing between their runs and the rules on simultaneous execution are those of the product page.

4.10 SSL certificate. Section 2.2.3 of the Agreement applies.

4.11 Reseller plan. The rules of this section apply to each account created in a reseller plan according to the following allocation:

Individual limits are not multiplied or applied to the whole plan as overall limits, unless the product page expressly defines them that way. The reseller remains responsible for their customers’ compliance with these rules.

4.12 Firewall and filters. On shared hosting, Astral Internet does not add any IP address, domain or other item to the allow list of the firewall or of the filters.

5. Virtual private servers

For readability, a virtual private server, whatever its management level, is called a “Server”.

5.1 A Server may not be used as an open proxy, a Tor exit node, a relay or an IRC server, nor as a public, commercial or anonymizing virtual private network (VPN) service — that is, any service that masks third parties’ IP addresses or gives them access to the Server’s bandwidth. A private VPN connecting the Client to their own systems is permitted; a proxy reserved for the Client’s use is permitted upon request to Astral Internet. Peer-to-peer file sharing (“.torrent” or other) is prohibited.

5.2 Astral Internet may disconnect a Server from the internet where its activity threatens the security or stability of the network or of the infrastructure, or for any activity considered unlawful — in particular compromising material, child pornography, sending unsolicited email, masking third parties’ IP addresses (section 5.1) and the sale of weapons or of any other unlawful matter.

5.3 The Client of a Server has the use of its resources without the limits of section 4, in compliance with sections 1, 2, 3, 6 and 7. A Server’s bandwidth is neither metered nor capped; it serves the operation of the Client’s services, not file sharing or any other activity that monopolizes it to the detriment of the network. A Server whose traffic degrades that of other clients may have its throughput limited, and then be disconnected under section 5.2.

5.4 The Client of a managed or fully managed Server retains “root” or administrator access. The software they install, the configurations they change and the operations they carry out by means of that access are their responsibility. Before installing software or changing a configuration of the system, of the control panel or of a base service, they notify Astral Internet where the operation may affect the security or stability of the Server. Failing that, Astral Internet is not answerable for the consequences of that action and the corrective work falls under the webmaster services in section 3.3 of the Agreement. This section does not relieve Astral Internet of the tasks expressly included in the management level subscribed to.

6. Software and scripts

6.1 Maintained versions and patches. The Client uses versions of software, scripts, themes and extensions that are still maintained, and applies without undue delay the security patches that fall under their administration. They follow their publishers’ notices and maintain the licences necessary for updates. Where a component no longer receives patches or cannot be kept in a sufficiently secure state, the Client upgrades it, replaces it or stops using it.

6.2 What falls to Astral Internet. Astral Internet is not required to exhaustively monitor the components administered by the Client, to correct them or to develop a replacement solution, except where a service has been expressly subscribed to. On shared hosting, it notifies the Client of available updates and makes tools available that can apply them automatically; the Client remains responsible for updating their software. An exploitable critical vulnerability, a compromise or a refusal to correct may justify the protective measures provided for in the Agreement. The consequences attributable to the Client’s failure follow section 11.7 of the Agreement, subject to Astral Internet’s own responsibilities and to mandatory rules.

6.3 Most targeted software. Popular software — WordPress, Joomla, PrestaShop and others — as well as their extensions, add-ons and modules are particularly targeted by attacks; the Client applies security updates to them with heightened vigilance.

6.4 Astral Internet may, at any time and without notice, suspend an account or delete, disable, update or modify any script or software considered vulnerable or harmful, in order to protect its servers.

6.5 Client scripts. The Client provides, installs, manages and troubleshoots their scripts, which they may use without prior authorization. A script calls only files and directories located in its own directory, and writes nothing elsewhere; Astral Internet does not modify a script that breaches this rule and offers no assistance regarding it. Where Astral Internet considers that a script is disrupting a server, it may disable it immediately and without notice, notifying the Client afterwards; access to the scripts directory is then disabled. It is up to the Client to correct the script and to provide written proof of it; Astral Internet normally re-enables it within three (3) business days. If the script remains problematic, the Client permanently loses access to the scripts directory.

6.6 Compatibility and end of support. Astral Internet may maintain and upgrade the infrastructure and the components it administers, in particular the operating system, the control panel, the database engines and the runtime environments. The Client adapts the applications that fall to them to the supported versions. They may not require an obsolete or vulnerable component to be kept in order to preserve a website’s compatibility.

For a planned change, Astral Internet informs the Client of the versions concerned, the date and the actions required at least thirty (30) days in advance, subject to a longer legal period. The Client makes the adaptations or arranges their departure before that date; paid assistance may be offered to them, with no guarantee that an adaptation is feasible. If their application remains incompatible, Astral Internet may disable the component concerned or suspend the Service affected rather than compromise the security of the infrastructure. An urgent measure necessary for security may be taken immediately, the Client being informed as soon as possible.

On a virtual private or dedicated server, the security of the system rests on applying updates. Where the Client objects to a required update, postpones it or makes it impossible — in particular to preserve an application’s compatibility — Astral Internet does not guarantee the security of the server for what depends on that update, even if the Service subscribed to is managed or fully managed. It informs the Client, records the refusal or the impediment on file, and may isolate the component concerned or suspend the Service where the risk warrants it. The management level subscribed to remains applicable for everything else.

This section does not remove the rights of refusal, termination or refund applicable to a change to the Service, and does not transfer to the Client the management tasks expressly entrusted to Astral Internet.

7. Network and security

7.1 In addition to the foregoing, it is prohibited to use the Service to scan or penetrate the security mechanisms of an internet host; to falsify any part of TCP/IP packet headers; or to take any action liable to compromise the security of the Service.

7.2 The Client is responsible for the security of their system and of their account, according to the allocation established in section 11.7 of the Agreement and subject to the tasks expressly included in the management level subscribed to. Astral Internet’s cooperation with the authorities and any disclosure of non-public information are subject to section 11.6 of the Agreement. The technical protective measures provided for in the Policy do not, in themselves, authorize disclosure of information to a third party.

7.3 Where Astral Internet receives a founded complaint about a breach of the Policy relating to an infected website or to compromised mailboxes, the CAD $150.00 processing fee applies only on the conditions of section 4.9 of the Agreement. No open-ended administrative surcharge is added. The technical measures necessary to contain the incident remain permitted.

Last modified: 2026-09-09