How to report network abuse

When you need to report abuse (for example, network attacks, spam, phishing, copyright infringement, or other violations) to a hosting provider, it's essential to provide a clear, complete, and professional report. This makes it easier to provide a prompt and effective response.

Below is a guide with recommendations on how to report abuse specifically to abuse@x4b.net in a way that helps the abuse team assess and act on your complaint.

Where to Send Your Report

For abuse issues concerning services at X4B, send your report to: abuse@x4b.net

Reports made via support / sales channels may not be handled as quickly and in some cases may not be handled at all if we are unable to verify the report's legitimacy. Always use the dedicated abuse email address.

Recommendations for Writing Your Abuse Report

Use a Business Email Address (When Reporting on Behalf of a Business)

If you represent a company, always send from your official business email domain (e.g. you@yourcompany.com), not from a personal email (e.g you@gmail.com). This helps establish your authority and credibility, and reduces the likelihood your report will be dismissed as spam or unverifiable.

We regularly receive reports from personal email addresses that are attempts to take down legitimate services. Using a business email address helps us verify that you are a legitimate representative of the company making the report. In some cases we may be unable to act on reports from personal email addresses.

Example:

From: you@yourcompany.com
Subject: Abuse Report - [IP address/domain involved]

Include Information to Help Assess the Validity of Your Report

Your report should be clear, specific, and include evidence. Abuse desks handle many reports daily and will prioritize those that are easy to verify.

Recommended details to include:
  • IP address(es) involved
  • Date and time of the incident (with timezone, preferably in UTC) (if applicable)
  • Logs or evidence (e.g. web server logs, email headers, screenshots)
  • Description of the abuse (what happened, how you detected it)
  • Impact on you or your network (optional but helpful)

Example:

IP: 203.0.113.45
Time: 2025-07-08 10:22 UTC
Description: Hosting of copyright-infringing content
URLS:
 - http://example.com/infringing-content (screenshot attached)

Include Your Contact Details and Who You Represent

Abuse desks often need to follow up with questions. Always identify yourself clearly:

  • Full name
  • Position/title
  • Company/organization
  • Email address
  • Phone number (optional, for urgent matters)

Example:

Best regards,
Jane Doe
Security Analyst
ExampleCorp
jane.doe@examplecorp.com
+1 555-123-4567

Email verification

Certain categories of abuse reports may require verification of the email address used to send the report. This is to ensure that the report is legitimate and not spam. If you are sending a report that requires verification, please ensure that your email address is valid and can receive replies.

For some categories of report this process is automated, and you will receive an email with a verification link. For others, you may be asked to reply to a received email to confirm your identity.

If your sending email address uses DKIM, SPF, or DMARC, please ensure that these are configured correctly to avoid your report being marked as spam.

Abuse Policy

We take abuse reports seriously and will investigate all reports that meet the above criteria. However, we reserve the right to reject reports that do not provide sufficient information or that appear to be spam or phishing attempts.

Our acceptable use policy outlines the types of content and activities that are not allowed on our network. If you believe that a user is violating our acceptable use policy, please include this information in your report.

You can find our acceptable use policy on our website.