Lookout for Android

Lookout Mobile Security has been hard at work this year. Since we first reviewed their Editors' Choice-winning app Lookout Premium for Android (free, or $2.99/month for Premium), back in February, Lookout has improved the depth of its security scans so that you're notified of malware in sideloaded apps, or apps you download outside the official Google Play store, as well.

Lookout Premium for Android offers powerful, triple-threat protection for your Android device, all under an extremely intuitive, simple interface and lightweight package. Lookout blocks mobile malware, protects your data from device theft or loss, and warns when apps seek too many app permissions.

Traditional security companies with their own mobile products, such as?Norton Mobile Security,?Trend Micro Mobile Security for Android,?F-Secure Mobile Security, and?McAfee Mobile Security 2.0, have quickly caught up feature-wise. However, Lookout has a better grasp of its user, and it shows in this simple, fuss-free app.

Free or Premium?
There are two versions of Lookout for Android. The free, ad-supported version includes malware scans, a Find My Phone feature that geo-locates your missing phone on a Google map, and cloud-based backup contacts. Lookout Premium adds four more features: Safe Browsing to block phishing and malicious websites located in text messages or when browsing, remote wipe and lock, a privacy advisor for your apps, and additional backup for photos and call history, which you can restore on a new device. It removes the pop-up ads, though they never bothered me much anyway. I highly recommend at least getting the free version. ?

I tested Lookout Premium on an app-laden?Samsung Galaxy Nexus?with Android 4.0.2 and a factory reset?Samsung Galaxy S II with Android 2.3.5. If you're an iOS user, check out?Lookout for iPhone.?

Getting Started
Getting started with Lookout takes minimal effort. After downloading the app, create an account with a valid email address and password, and you're good to go. By default, Lookout sends eekly emails about the status of your smartphone?s security. You'll also use this address to log into Lookout's Web-based admin portal, Mylookout.com.??

From there, Lookout performs a full scan of your device and SD card for malware and spyware; 95 percent of you will pass this bill of health, given that the incidence of Android malware is still?very low?in the real world.?Still, if you're in five percent, you'll be glad you checked. By default, scans are performed every day and any time you're about to download an app or file (checked as File System Monitoring in your Settings). You can reschedule daily or weekly scans for a specific day and time of the week, or stick to on-demand scans only. I set mine to run daily at 4 AM for minimal interference with my normal use. On a Nexus with 137 apps installed, the scan took about two minutes, and didn't slow down my usage of other apps appreciably.

Anti-virus That Doesn't Hog Resources

Security applications aren't the popular kids in school. We expect them to interfere with our device's processing speeds and battery life, making it one of the first to go when it comes to cleaning out our app library. You won't feel that need with Lookout, which is extremely lightweight.

On a cold boot up?I powered off the phone and timed how long it took to reboot, averaging three tests?the Nexus took 54.5 seconds to restart with Lookout and 51.7 seconds without. The GS2 took 37.9 seconds to load with Lookout and 36.2 seconds to load without. Impressive. Lookout also claims that running its app for one day only consumes as much juice as a 30-second phone call.?

After setup, Lookout only turns on when your device connects to a server. You'll notice pop up alerts fade in and out with updates; it tells you that the file you've just downloaded is malware/spyware-free, or that Safe Browsing has been enabled when you launch a new browser for the first time. Because you don't have to tap to close an alert, I found the alerts reassuring rather than excessive and annoying.

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