Abstract: A portable communications or computing device includes one or more sensors for detecting motion in the x, y, and z axes, and/or pitch, yaw, and roll, and/or magnetic direction, and includes hardware and software programmed to allow a user to use one or more motions of the portable device as a security feature such that such motions are needed in order to gain access to the functionality of the device or data stored in memory of the device. A display provides prompts allowing the user to choose to include one or motions of the device as security, and allows the user to include such one or more motions of the device alone or in combination with one or more alphanumeric characters as a password to restrict access to the functionality of the device and/or data stored in memory on the device. Such motions can be selected from preset motions. Such motions can be used to provide varying levels of security for selected data or other files or functionality of the device.