Passwords are a first line defense to your privacy and often they are the only one. If you are concerned about your data, you will want this barrier to be high and strong. In this article I want to explore some less common ways to password protect your computer.

Desktop Shortcut To Lock PC
Creating a shortcut for locking the computer screen in Windows 7 is very handy for all those users who locks their PC/Laptops down You can create a shortcut for locking the computer screen in Windows 7, XP and Vista. To create an even quicker means of securing your computer, place a shortcut on your desktop to lock your computer.
Step 1. Right-click an open area of your desktop, point to New, and then click Shortcut.
Step 2. In the Location box, type %windir%\System32\rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation
Step 3. Click Next, in the Name box type a name for the shortcut such as, Lock Computer, and then click Finish.
For more convenience, you can drag the shortcut to your QuickLaunch bar, which will allow you to lock your computer with only a single click.

Use USB Flash Drive As Lock
Predator is a software that allows you to use a USB flash drive to lock and unlock your computer. When the flash drive is removed, mouse and keyboard are locked and the screen turns dark. If the flash drive isn’t handy, you can hit the space bar several times and unlock the computer using a custom password. Entering the wrong password, however, will result in a nasty alarm.

Set BIOS Password
Setting a BIOS password is not necessarily very creative, but it’s impossible to circumvent without physical access to the machine. To set a BIOS password, you first need to figure out how to get into your BIOS. Usually, this is done by clicking the DEL or F1 key during startup; the correct key should be indicated when you boot your computer. Once you have entered the BIOS, navigate to the Security tab or a similar option and set a password.

Create a Windows Password
Not having a Windows 7 password is a big security concern. The most way for us to password protected our Windows laptop is to setting or creating a Windows password. Setting a password on a Windows computer is a relatively quick and easy process that will greatly increase the security of your files. Of course, if you choose this way to protect your laptop, you may take the risk of forgot Windows password problem, which can be sometimes annoying.
Note: For doing this job, you also need to create a Windows password reset disk or prepare another available admin account. Otherwise, it is not easy to solve the trouble of Windows 7 password recovery.