Online backup is a now familiar concept – for a fee, you can use a backup vendor's storage space and bandwidth and let them take care of backups for you.

Databarracks Buddybackup, now at version 1.1, differs from most in that there's no fee and no backup vendor. Instead it relies on you and your friends having a little spare hard disk space and bandwidth as well as a willingness to help out.

It works by you and your friends, or 'buddies' as Databarracks would have you call them, downloading the free Buddybackup software client. You then configure it to back up selected files and folders automatically.

Given the nature of this backup tool, it's not designed to back up entire systems but instead it's a way to protect the stuff you would really miss if your hard drive were to explode.

Your files are then compressed and copied not to Databarrack's servers but to your friends' hard drives, transparently and in the background. Multiple copies can be stored on multiple PCs for added security.

During the initial setup, you must decide how much disk space you want available for backups (limited to 5GB in the free version). This amount of space is then also made available for your buddies to store their data on your computer.

All your backups are protected by 128bit AES encryption. Your buddies have no access to your data, nor you to theirs.

Buddybackup doesn't give you everything a paid-for service would. There's no guaranteed availability, no service-level agreements to reassure you and you have to rely on your friends being online when you need to restore your data.

If they're not, you'll have to get on the phone and beg them to boot up.

If you have no friends, don't despair – at the Buddybackup forum you can meet new friends and swap backup space. Whether you'd want to store data, albeit encrypted, on a stranger's PC is another matter.

As it stands, Buddybackup has its limitations, but it is an interesting tool and, as long as you don't go over the 5GB storage limit, it won't cost you a penny.

If you do, there is an unrestricted version that allows you to store as much data as you like on as many computers as you want, for a one-off fee of £10.

System requirements:
Broadband Internet connection
Windows XP