Lookout launches updated version of Android security app

Mobile security vendor Lookout has launched new free and paid for versions of its Android anti-malware security app.

The app, launched on the Google Play Store, features a radically redesigned user interface and slew of new features, including a locating function that lets users locate their missing device even after battery has died.

The dead battery locate feature works by making the lost smartphone send out a "Signal Flare" email containing the device's location just before the battery dies.

Lookout has also added a protection against click-to-call threats and an "emerging new mobile threats" category.

The new security app also comes with a 'Stay in the Know' feature, which alerts users when the app is running, placing a small Lookout icon on the top left of the smartphone's display.

When pulled down the icon alerts the user to the status of the smartphone, giving them an "everything's ok" message when no action is needed.

The app is also designed to be battery friendly and require very little processor power or memory, the firm's chief technology officer Kevin Mahaffey added at briefing to launch the new app attended by V3.

Lookout claimed the app is the first to offer full protection against attacks that can wipe your personal information and your phone without your knowledge.

Its Safe Dialer feature scans every phone number user click to call from a website and alerts them if it detects any nefarious activity, Lookout said.

The app is yet to receive any serious penetration testing statistics, though past versions of Lookout have offered incredibly robust protection - so much so that the app's predecessor ranked number one in V3's top 10 Android security apps feature earlier this year.