Which Host

[swood]

Ok so i've never used a host apart from the free host that my forum is on at the moment. What is the best free host that i should use for this forum:
www[dot]anything[dot]freeforums[dot]org

I want to add loads of mods after i move and i might add some ads so i don't want a forced ad host. I will be purchasing a copy of the database, which FreeForums is charging me for. What features should i look for? MySql, ASL etc.

Also what should i do about backing up my forum? Is there a good free online back up service that will back my forum up every day or so?

Thanks a lot