FAQ

Why can't my server send out emails?

Due to excessive spam complaints, on all new servers we block outbound access to port 25 (SMTP) and 465 (SMTPS). Under certain circumstances this can be lifted.

Can I setup a Tor Relay?

Yes, but only as a guard/middle node. We would get hassled way too much over an exit node. They get DMCA notices within hours. Also keep in mind the bandwidth limits, discussed on the pricing page. A relay setup without bandwidth accounting and/or rate limiting will very quickly use a lot of bandwidth. Keep in mind that a mere 2Mbit/sec over a month is about 1TB.

Can I torrent?

SporeStack has to comply with local laws, generally US and wherever the server is hosted, if not in the US. We receive a valid DMCA complaint we will delete your server without a refund, period. These are not seed boxes. There are lots of torrent-friendly VPNs and seedboxes. More than likely for less money and less hassle. Even if you have a server in Amsterdam, we can get DMCA notices for it.

If you insist on torrenting, despite legality, a seed box or something like put.io might be your best bet.

Can you setup a Monero darkweb market for me?

No, you're on your own.

Can I host my Wordpress site on SporeStack?

Sure! The operating system on up is yours to control and setup. SporeStack is not "easy to use" out of the box. It's geared towards more experienced and/or patient individuals.

If my server is powered off, will it expire at the same time?

Yes. It's still taking up resources (IP addresses in particular) and there's no discount or anything like that for having the server off.

My server expired but I caught it in a grace window where it's powered off and not deleted. I topped it up and it's still not online?

You have to manually power it on after topping up, at least for now. Also, at the moment the grace period works like this. Servers less than 7 days old don't have any grace period. Servers between 7 and 13 days have a 1 hour grace period. Servers between 14 and 27 days old have a 12 hour grace period. Servers 28 days or older will have a 24 hour grace period. The grace period may change at any time and it's not part of the deal when you get a server, but we would like to fine tune it and make it more useful.

What happened to your Torified hosting?

For some time, we offered some Torified flavors. tor-1024, tor-2048, tor-3072, and tor-4096. These were servers only accessible through a .onion, and all traffic was routed out through Tor.

Almost no one used it, it never made us any money, the code and infrastructure to handle it was significantly more complicated than the rest, and it was becoming neglected as a result. If there's enough demand, we could consider bringing back a refactored Torified hosting service, but it's unlikely..

In the meanwhile, if you wish to run a Tor hidden service, we recommend you setup your own hidden service with Tor (as you had to do with Torified hosting, anyway), and lock it down appropriately. Make sure your web server or what not is listening on localhost and not globally. You can also manually torify your outbound traffic if you desire.

Is this an NSA honeypot?

Probably not.

I work in law enforcement and I want to learn more about SporeStack. Where do I look?

Best place to start is our Law Enforcement FAQ. Once you've read through that, feel free to email us if you have any questions.