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Android phones are extremely practical devices, properly wielded: You can use them to cut the time required to do many tasks, such as checking and responding to your e-mail. But your phone's power could become a devastating weapon used against you if your handset is lost, stolen, or compromised by malware. Although you can avoid many problems by following basic security precautions, it's also wise to install an app like AVG Anti-Virus Free (Pro version $5). The AVG app provides continual, automatically updated protection against rapidly evolving Android security threats. It also offers some useful tools, such as data backup, remote phone tracking, and remote wipe.

AVG Anti-Virus Free scans your phone in real time, examining apps and files as they come into the device. If it finds any problems, it will notify you and give you options to abort the installation or fix the issue.

You can back up contacts, call logs, bookmarks, and text and media messages to your SD Card. AVG Anti-Virus Free also offers a six-day trial for backing up apps, but you'll need to buy the Pro version to make that feature permanent. In addition, you can lock individual apps (another six-day trial) so that they require a password before they will run.

If your phone is lost or stolen, you can lock, track, or wipe it remotely, simply by sending your phone a text message or by signing in to your AVG account online. Of course, the remote features' effectiveness will depend on your phone's connection to the network; if it's in airplane mode or turned off, you're out of luck.