Lookout Mobile Security Premium (for Android)

A lot of what you read about Android security is pure FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt), a common marketing tactic used to scare people into buying into a certain product. The truth is, Android devices are pretty safe as long as you stick to legitimate app markets (Google Play and Amazon App Store) and aren't the president of Iran or some other high-profile target of malicious attackers to begin with. But what if you live in a country that doesn't allow access to these stores? What if you want apps that aren't available in the official stores? What about other mobile worries?losing your phone, privacy-invading apps, attacks through the browser? Lookout Mobile Security Premium, now in its third iteration, combines comprehensive, nonalarmist security with a polished user experience and is currently our only Editors' Choice for Android security suites.

Free or Premium?
Lookout comes in free or Premium flavors. The free, ad-supported subscription gives you anti-malware protection, backup of contacts, and remote locate and scream. If you simply don?t want to pay for security, Lookout's free version provides sufficient protection against current mobile malware threats.

For $2.99/month, or $29.99 annually, Lookout Premium adds four more features: 2GB of cloud storage to backup your photos and call history, a Safe Browser that blocks malicious links it detects in the stock browser, a privacy advisor for your apps, and remote lock and wipe. If you really can't find your device, whether it was lost or stolen, the Premium remote wipe and lock features are far more important to have than remote locate and scream.

Revamped Interface
Version 3.0 marks a major change to Lookout's interface. Instead of four big buttons, your start screen now displays a dashboard with a live activity feed, and shortcuts to features underneath. The activity feed tells you things like when Lookout last scanned your device for malware, or whether that last app you downloaded was safe. I prefer this to what other antivirus products do, which is to send you constant push notifications every time it does something on your device.

Lookout also revamped its Web portal (www.lookout.com) from which you can manage all your remote controls, namely remote wipe/lock, backup/restore, remote locate/scream. Aesthetically the website looks the same, but now it's powered by HTML5 and therefore feels a lot faster. It isn't a revolutionary change that affects the app at all, but it does enhance the overall user experience a bit.

Recover a Lost or Stolen Device
These days every major Android security suite offers the same basket of recovery options, typically executed through a Web-based admin portal or text message-based command. Like F-Secure Mobile Security ($39.99/year or $59.99/2 years), Bitdefender Mobile Security ($9.99/year), and McAfee Mobile Security ($29.99/year), Lookout lets you remotely lock, wipe, scream, or geolocate your device. I won't go into detail for each feature, but I tried every one and they all performed smoothly. One thing Lookout does not do is alert you when the SIM card has been removed?a glaring omission since this is usually the first thing a thief does. McAfee and ESET Mobile Security($9.99/year) do, however.

Lookout also backs up contact data on your phone, which you can restore on a new device. Premium users get a generous 2 GB to backup call history and photos. If you want a more comprehensive backup app, MyBackup (Free) backs up your apps, app settings, photos, contacts, browser bookmarks, music playlists, text and MMS messages, and system settings.

New Signal Flare Feature
A basic requirement for executing any remote locate command mentioned above is that the device has to be turned on. If your battery's dead, well, you're out of luck.

Lookout 3.0 introduces a novel feature that increases the chance of finding your device?Signal Flare. This automatically records your phone's location right before its battery dies out. It's not foolproof. For instance if your phone's been stolen, chances are it's not in the same place it was right before it ran out of juice. Or if the phone wasn't connected, then the feature doesn't work at all. Make sure you opt-in.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/Cj7K-CEvFZY/0,2817,2400996,00.asp

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