Antivirus for Android Phones

Android has gained huge popularity in the last year, and it has given good competition to iOS, Windows and Blackberry. However, this gaining popularity has also put Android on the hit-list of virus developers. Last week it was reported in a news that the notorious ‘Trojan’ may have hit the Android. Though, Android is based on Linux, it will be stupid to believe that this can be 100% virus free. Application developers may inject hidden code and deliver virus into your device.
Weather it is PC or mobile, it is important to guard against viruses by keeping a good anti-virus software. Here is a list of top 3 anti-virus software for Android:

AVG Antiviurs:

This is a free anti virus and can be downloaded from the android market. This app is from the famous AVG that provides security for personal computers also. AVG can scan your mobile (including the SD card) and find the malicious software. It can also help you locate the lost / stolen device via the GPS. AVG also provides protection against SMS spammers !
[ Download Link ]

Lookout:

Lookout is a very popular mobile security application. It can keep track of all the apps installed on your mobile and can easily scan them. This also provides a feature called ‘Find my phone’ that can help you find your lost/stolen phone.
[ Download Link ]

SmrtGaurd:

Just like AVG and Lookout, this also provides you the same features like scanning the applications and also helps you locate your lost / stolen phone.
[ Download Link ]

All these applications are free for Android, so you can download any of the above and keep your Phone secure.

Tips to keep your Android safe:

Install apps only from secure and trusted websites. Always install from the Android market. Do not install the applications from 3rd party sources because you never know what kind of code is inside it !
If you install applications only from the Android market, then you can be sure that Google has verified the security norms before publishing it on the market.
Always install ‘official’ apps for Social networking. For e.g. there are many apps for Twitter and Facebook which are developed by the independent developers. However, the official apps are also available from the Facebook and Twitter. All these apps will require you to login details. You never know if these details are secretly stolen by the developer’s code ! Hence, it is always better to use the official apps. You can identify the official apps by downloading them directly from the website, OR by checking out the developer’s email. For e.g. the developer of the twitter app has email: <some_one>@twitter.com –> Original !