Upcoming Company

Okay, so the past few days, there's been article after article of how malware is quickly spreading to Android devices, mainly because of the fact the OS is open source. Don't get me wrong, I love open source, that's what attracted me to buying an Android phone (Samsung Galaxy S) but this open source means malware writers will always find new ways to exploit something on the phone to run their malware on.

But, it's not all bad news. One upcoming company called Lookout Security made a security program for Android, and if your a Windows Phone or Blackberry user, they have you covered too.
https://www.mylookout.com/

I personally use Lookout on my Android and I can only say I fell in love with Lookout from the day I installed it, for how much the app offers to be free on Android Market, it almost sounds too good to be true.

The image to the left is taken from my Android phone. Now lets quickly give this a run down. First option is the security, it scans all the apps installed (currently 152) for malware or spyware, none found so it's ticked green.

The next 2 options are greyed out at the time this photo was taken, my premium ran out and I need to renew it, but never the less, I'll tell you what they cover.

The Privacy Advisor shows me what information my apps are accessing, and lists them in a very neat order to make it easy to read.

Next, the Safe Browsing option is there to protect you against harmful links and phishing attempts when your browsing online with your mobile device.

The fourth option for backup. Not a lot to say, it's what you expect it to be, backup everything I've input on my phone, pictures, contact numbers, etc

The last, and I think best feature of Lookout, the Missing Device option. This one has to be linked to mylookout.com account for it to work, but if you ever lose your phone, is it gone forever? what can be done? well this allows you to remotely access your phone (providing it's switched on) and turn on your built in GPS.

Now, you've got the GPS switched on, next thing to do, on mylookout.com it's linked to Google Maps, it shows you where your phone is, right there on the screen in front of you.

Okay, so your in the same location as your phone but you can't see it and still can't find it. Another feature of the missing device option comes to the rescue. It has a "Scream" option, your phone will make a very loud sound which without mistake HAS to be your phone.

That is the best case scenario, but now lets cover the worst case scenario. Lets say you've lost your phone, again you can switch on the GPS remotely through your mylookout.com account, but it's miles away and you may never get it back, so anyone could be accessing your private information right?

Wrong, another feature you need to know about. Lookout lets you remotely lock and wipe your phone, so if you ever lose your phone and aren't able to get it back, Lookout is here to keep your privacy safe.

I *highly* recommend anyone not already using an antivirus product on their phone to install Lookout Security, you'll never want to uninstall it.