You can create a boot and screen saver passwords. Be careful, if you forget the boot password it is extremely difficult to remove it. You can also create a hard drive password (even more difficult to remove than the bios password).

Windows 2000 and XP includes a feature that allows you to store sensitive files and folders in a compressed folder and use that folder's built-in password protection option.

Choose Start, Settings and click or double-click Control Panel. In the Control Panel window, double-click Add/Remove Programs and click the Windows Setup tab. Select System Tools and click Details. If there is no check mark next to 'Compressed Folders', click the box to check it; then click OK and follow the prompts to add this compression feature to your system.

You can also purchase a password protection program, like Program Protector, from Blumenthal Software for around $30.