Ecatel is another company that we believe has what it takes to be considered one of the best anonymous hosting companies. It is possible that it does not fulfill all of the requirements, but we can say with certainty that it fulfills some of them, and it is on the basis of these that we have decided to continue with this Ecatel Review.
Be aware, however, that if you are just starting out with servers and website building, Ecatel is probably not the best option for you to go with at this time. (Why? For further information, please refer to the section titled “Services and Pricing Plans.”
In addition, as is customary, we attempted to validate Ecatel’s host but were unable to do so. As a direct consequence of the DNS apparently redirecting traffic to a number of other third parties, we were unable to carry out our standard battery of tests. What’s the point of putting the server through its paces if we already know the results won’t be reliable or accurate?
Anyway, without further ado, let’s get started with this review of the Ecatel. The following is a list of the conventional questions that will be addressed throughout this piece:
Ecatel at a Glance
This very paragraph contains a comprehensive summary of the company, which will assist you in better comprehending its potential:
- Initial Uniform Resource Locator: http://ecatel.co.uk
- The Netherlands is the location of the servers.
- Bitcoin is the method of payment.
- The most affordable option is 29 Euros per month.
- Only dedicated servers are available.
- Ignoring the DMCA: Yes (Probably).
- The AUP contains a list of content that is prohibited on this site.
Is Anonymous Hosting Available Through Ecatel?
In order to provide an accurate response, we investigate questions such as whether or not it is necessary for customers to provide personal information to the company in order to purchase services from that business. If that is the case, what kind of information is needed?
Then, what purpose does it put this information to, and does it distribute it to any other parties? Is there a way to delete the data automatically or do you have to do it by hand?
And finally, is it possible for the data to be incorrect, random, or otherwise untrue? If the answer is yes, then the company is typically regarded as being anonymous.
In most cases, the Terms and Conditions page of a company, as well as its Privacy Policy, will contain responses to the questions that have been posed above. Ecatel, surprisingly, does not contain either of those pages. As the old adage goes, “absence of information is better than lack of information.”
To put it another way, the website in question does not contain any kind of clause or “Term” that compels users to reveal or share personal information in order to register for services or make a purchase.
In addition, the organization provides what is arguably the most anonymous mode of payment for customers who wish to make purchases. All of these things point to the possibility that the company in question is an anonymous hosting company.
Is Ecatel a Company That Offers Offshore Hosting?
The company does mention “Offshore Servers” at the bottom of its website, and it also has a product category that bears the same name as the phrase “Offshore Servers.” This is the only information that has been provided, and it is only the most surface-level information.
Although the fact that the company’s servers are located in the Netherlands is a more direct indication of the company’s “offshore” status.
Additionally, the Netherlands is one of the few offshore hosting locations that are legally able to provide the type of digital liberty that we look for in these businesses. This makes the Netherlands an attractive option for us.
What exactly is the Acceptable Use Policy of Ecatel?
The most significant advantage that we, as users, derive from a company’s location offshore is the content-liberty it provides. To put it another way, the liberty of being able to upload and share content that might not have been feasible using servers located in our respective home countries.
The Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) that Ecatel has is both very brief and very permissive. The only items on the list that it expressly states are forbidden are those that contain content related to:
Child sex, spam, malware, phishing, distributed denial of service Given that no other direct restrictions have been mentioned, it is likely safe to assume that everything else is free to proceed as planned.
Taking into consideration the fact that it markets itself as an offshore hosting company, the only laws that are likely to apply are those of the Netherlands, not global laws. This is because it is marketing itself as an offshore hosting company.
It appears that the website contains a page labeled “NTD” through which users can report copyright violations and various other issues to the company.
In the Netherlands, the DMCA does not apply to content that is protected by intellectual property rights. In the Netherlands, copyrights are governed by a law known as “Auteurswet,” but this law is probably disregarded given that “Copyrighted content” is not included on the list of content that is restricted.
However, there does appear to be a page on the site labeled NTD, which users can access in order to report copyright violations and other issues to the company.
We were unable to locate any other clauses or statements that mentioned the requirement that all content that is uploaded must be legal.
And finally, after conducting research on the company, we discovered that in the past it has been lax with its copyright policies and that it appears to ignore complaints that are connected to this issue.
Which Payment Methods are Accepted When Making a Purchase on Ecatel?
In the earlier part of this review of Ecatel, we did mention that the company allows payments to be made in secret, right? To put that another way, it will “only” accept anonymous payments.
Bitcoins are the only acceptable form of currency for making payments. There does not appear to be any other cryptocurrency or fiat method that is accepted at this time.
Does Ecatel Offer Refunds?
The policy that the company adheres to regarding refunds is extremely stringent and conservative. In no circumstance may a refund be requested after the delivery of the services (servers), provided that they have fulfilled their obligation to deliver.
The only circumstance in which a refund is even remotely possible is one in which the servers have not yet been delivered. That means that if you want to try out the servers before committing to a longer period of time, you won’t be able to do so because that option is not available.
What kind of services does Ecatel offer, and how much do they cost?
Ecatel is an offshore anonymous hosting company that specializes in “Dedicated Servers only.” Therefore, it is not possible to purchase Shared or VPS servers through Ecatel. This is the reason why we stated that it is not suitable for novices.
On the homepage, there are a total of 12 different Packages to choose from. It appears that the most affordable plan begins at 29.00 EUR per month, while the most expensive plan can cost up to 499.00 EUR per month.
Be aware that the links take you to a 404 page, despite the fact that the company offers “Streaming Servers” as an additional service under the “Dedicated Servers” option in its product lineup.
How Can I Get in Touch with the Ecatel Support Team?
Because the company does not appear to place a high priority on quick and simple communication, there is no live-chat option provided for customers.
Users have the ability to get in touch with the team via multiple e-mail addresses, a post address, and an ICQ ID, all of which can be found on the page labeled “Contact Us.” We did try to contact them through their ICQ because we believed that this would be the most expedient method of communication; however, it has been more than 24 hours and we still have not received a response.
It has been almost four months since the ICQ account was “last seen,” so that’s something to keep in mind. To put it succinctly, if you require consistent assistance from customer service, Ecatel might not be the best company to go with.
