The term protected memory refers to computer memory secured, either at the hardware or the software level, from being accessed improperly by any given computer process. It was first implemented in computers in the 1970s and 1980s, but did not become a standard computing technique until the 2000s.

Today, memory protection is part of almost every modern operating system (software), and most modern CPU architectures (hardware).

CPU, Memory terms

  • How to enable or disable write protection on a USB flash drive.
  • How to password protect files and folders in Windows.