You can temporarily back up an important file on your email server. If you have a key document that you wish to backup, but don’t have the means to do so at hand (perhaps because you have run out of backup media, are traveling, or have reason to distrust the security of your present physical location), then you can use email to temporarily but securely backup your work.
To use email to backup a file, simply attach the file to an email and then send it to yourself. This will send the file to your email server where it will be stored until you next download your email. The drawback of this approach is that you can’t then check your email again until you are ready to download the file. If you have set your email program to automatically check for email every few minutes, then you should turn this feature off. However, if you send the backup email to yourself but at a different email address, then you won’t tie up your present address.
You should only use this technique when you have to, and then download the file as soon as you can, because attachments can take up a lot of space on your Internet Service Provider’s email server.