What does online backup mean?

Hi, it is best to back up the files you would not want to lose if your computer crashed. Like photos or documents, things of importance to you.

Personally I always back up Windows and documents saved on the computer to an external hard drive because my broadband upload speed is too slow for the amount of storage I would need to send to the "cloud".

Note also that if you lose your internet connection you're stuck!

However Online backup services offer three useful features. The first is that after the initial process of uploading files to the server is complete, the software ensures that only files that have been changed or newly created are copied to the server. This kind of technology, called incremental backup, is already in use in software that creates a backup on external hard disks.

More guidance at the computer magazine website I subscribe to is below.

By the way, this website is in the "cloud". Webmail services such as Yahoo, Windows Live Mail and Gmail are essentially email programs that operate entirely from servers on the web.

Yes, it is. Now, both Hotmail and Google are offering Online storage, meaning you can store all/and files you wish there. This has the advantage that you won't run the risk of Viruses, and if you lose your stored disks, you still have your files.

Facebook pretty much offers this, but for pictures only, which are then Public Domain.

Neither the email carriers do this, I think, and Google offer more storage. As far as I know, it's a safe, & good thing.