There are numerous methods to password protecting areas of your site, some server language based (such as ASP, PHP or PERL) and client side based, such as JavaScript. JavaScript is not as secure or foolproof as a server-side option, a server side challenge/response is always more secure than a client dependant challenge/response. htaccess is about as secure as you can or need to get in everyday life, though there are ways above and beyond even that of htaccess