The cloud is a metaphor for the Internet based on how it is described in computer network diagrams. Just as how in the real world, clouds hide parts of the sky from sight, the "cloud" in computing hides the complex infrastructure that makes the Internet work. It is a type of computing in which IT-related actions are provided “as a service”, allowing users to access these services through the Internet ("in the "cloud""). They do not have to know or control the technologies behind them, preventing them from running into ethical and legal problems.