Lookout Gets Funding, Offers Free Beta

Thanks to investors like Khosla Ventures, Lookout, a San Francisco-based mobile device security company, has launched with a $5.5 million Series A round of funding, reports the San Francisco Business Times.

According to Dark Reading, Lookout is in the process of beta-testing its first product:

a consumer offering that uses both blacklisting and whitelisting approaches for malware protection and protection from malicious applications, firewall and IDS, data backup, and recovery and phone management, as well as a way for mobile users to locate and protect smartphones gone missing.

As mocoNews.net notes, the software will be free, but additional features will require a monthly subscription.

VentureBeat lists some phone security tips from Lookout, which include:

1. Set a password.
2. Don't click on links in text messages from people you don't trust.
3. Backup your data.
4. Only download applications from reputable sources.