The Trusted Computing initiative represents an important effort towards more secure and dependable computers and therefore towards the security of all computer-supported infrastructures and processes. However, the Trusted Computing paradigm entails some risks and drawbacks that are by no means negligible. In this paper we introduce the concept of Protected Computing as an alternative to Trusted Computing and compare these approaches from the points of view of security, usability, applications and convenience for users. Finally we also show how Protected Computing can represent an interesting complement to Trusted Computing.