Like a tax return, making a backup is boring and dull. Unlike a tax return, it should be done more than once a year.

While it’s common to back files up to an external hard disk or to CD or DVD, ideally backups should be kept far away from the computer in case of fire or theft, which is why online backup services such as this one from F-Secure are useful.

Offering unlimited storage space (there is a 4GB limit on individual files) F-Secure Online Backup processes files in the background, so once the user has set up the software, it can be forgotten about until there is a problem.

Files are copied to F-Secure’s servers over the internet, and as you would expect, are stored securely until required. It’s slower than backing up to a disk connected to your computer – the exact speed depends on your broadband connection but we would reckon on about five to 10 hours per gigabyte for most people, so it may be best to limit it to the more essential files.

Another problem is the cap some ISPs set on the amount of data that can be transferred in a month. Users with large collections of music or other files may find themselves running up against extra charges. Unfortunately the program contains no options for automatically preventing this. The closest thing is an option to limit the speed of the transfer up to the F-Secure servers, the default setting for which is 30kbits/sec.

By our calculations this would mean a total upload of just under 12GB in a month, assuming that the computer was left on copying files to the backup service 24 hours a day. This could be slowed to 20 or even 10kbits/sec but this would mean that a longer wait before all your files are backed up.

That said, the program can treat music and video as separate categories, so you can first tell it to back up important documents at full speed and then do the others later.

Files stored online can be accessed through a web browser, arranged in the same folders as on the computer and there is a dedicated player for listening to your music or watching videos or photos.

Backups can be restored automatically or by choosing individual files or folders – they can be returned to where they first came from or to a different folder.