VPS stands for Virtual Private Server !
VIRTUAL, because your server is actually a dedicated, firewalled, and segregated partition on a hardware server used for multiple VPS accounts.
This makes renting your own server a safe, affordable, and far more preferable alternative to home-operated server solutions or even running your PC all night and day, year in, year out … .
PRIVATE, because you have direct access to your very own server, allowing you to manage the applications used, the storage of files, and important data. You control the bandwidth used for incoming and outgoing data streams, and you control any user access rights to your very own piece of server real estate.
A VPS is basically a remote computer you are renting, which will always be there for you, no matter where you are, no matter the status of your local devices – PC, Mac, tablets, handhelds, iPhones, whatever. All you need is your access details for the remote desktop, and the FTP client.