Acceptable Use Policy

ProbeKit sends real DNS queries, pings, traceroutes and TCP, SMTP and HTTP connections from our servers. That makes it useful, and it means it must not be pointed at systems that don’t want it. This policy is part of our Terms of Service and applies to the website, the API, monitors and every other part of ProbeKit.

Only check what you’re authorized to assess

Only query domains, IP addresses and hosts that you own or are authorized to assess, for example your employer’s systems or a client’s systems with their permission. Monitors and repeated probes in particular must only target systems you are responsible for.

Troubleshooting the path between your systems and someone else’s is part of that: reading a recipient domain’s public MX or SPF record to fix your own delivery is fine. Scanning, mapping or monitoring systems you have no business with is not.

Don’t abuse the probes

• No port scanning, network mapping, vulnerability scanning or load testing of systems you aren’t authorized to assess.
• No denial of service, and no using ProbeKit to amplify, relay or hide the origin of traffic.
• No attempts to reach private, internal or reserved networks, or to get around our egress guards, DNS pinning or redirect checks.
• No sending spam, phishing or malware, including through the live mail test or alert channels.

Don’t get around limits

• No extra accounts, rotating IP addresses or shared API keys to get past plan limits or rate limits.
• Automate through the API with your own key, not by scraping the website.
• No reselling ProbeKit itself. MSPs may use the MSP plan to serve their own clients.

Testing ProbeKit itself

Please don’t test ProbeKit’s own security without talking to us. Good-faith vulnerability reports are welcome: see Security for how to send one.

What we do about abuse

To protect the people on the other end of our probes, and ProbeKit itself, we may without notice rate-limit or block requests, refuse particular targets, switch off a tool, revoke API keys, and suspend or close accounts. Many of these controls are automatic. Where the law requires it, we report abuse to the authorities.

Report abuse

If you think ProbeKit was used against your systems, tell us through the contact form with the time (with time zone), the target and what you saw. We investigate every report.