Lookout App: Huge data download

[RussWWFC]

I've been very happy with Lookout for protecting my device - it spots adware and fake apps pretty well and doesn't slow down the device (a Samsung Galaxy S3)

However I was shocked last night to find that 3G Watchdog was telling me I had run out of inclusive data - the last time I looked I had used under half.

I looked what had used it and the app claimed that lookout had downloaded 629MB of data - is this right and what was it doing to use that much?

I have disabled it's use of Mobile data through 3G Watchdog as I only get a paltry 1GB a month

 

[Rukbat]

Anti-virus programs work by comparing code you download with known virus patterns. In order to do that they have to keep downloading new files of known virus patterns. So they take huge amounts of data to run properly. (Even if the data is highly compressed.) So every so often (how often depends on the program), the program chews down a huge chunk of data. Not good if you have a limited data plan. (Use something like Data ON0OFF to keep data disabled unless you need it and stay connected to wifi as much as possible.)

 

[Goodspike]

Rukbat, that would be a huge amount of data for an AV program. The wife and I both use Bitdefender and even with tethering this month we're below 1GB of usage.

 

[Adar]

I would agree, that is a huge amount of data for an AV program. I use Lookout on my Sprint HTC One with 4.3. For last month, Lookout used a total of 57k, the month before that it used 49k. The largest amount Lookout has ever used on my phone was the month of August, where it used a total of 237k. in 3 months, Lookout has used less than half a meg. I have unlimited data, so all of my apps are set to autoupdate whenever they feel like it. There is no reason any AV should be consuming that much data. If it is, I would switch immediately. Definition updates are not that large.

The only question I would have is, are you sure that the program you are using to see how much it is using, is reading it correctly? Maybe it is counting the size of all the files Lookout is scanning? I really don't know, but I know for sure that Lookout should never be consuming anywhere close to that much data. I've been using Lookout all the way back to my old HTC Evo3D, and it has NEVER used even a whole meg in a month.

 

[BigRedGonzo]

You didn't by chance turn on the mobile photo back up option did you? When I used lookout, I had it set to only do that via WiFi. Just a shot in the dark, but worth looking into.

 

[Adar]

You didn't by chance turn on the mobile photo back up option did you? When I used lookout, I had it set to only do that via WiFi. Just a shot in the dark, but worth looking into.

Good point. I forgot about that since I turned it off immediately. I don't let any of my pictures auto backup. I could see that as an explanation for the data.

 

[RussWWFC]

That's what it was, upgraded to premium trial without my consent. Very naughty

 

[Digital Controller]

That's what it was, upgraded to premium trial without my consent. Very naughty

Honestly just to give you some notice, anti-virus apps like Lookout aren't very essential unless you are browsing insecure sites and downloading applications from off the PlayStore

 

[Adar]

Honestly just to give you some notice, anti-virus apps like Lookout aren't very essential unless you are browsing insecure sites and downloading applications from off the PlayStore

I use Lookout not so much for the anti-virus, but for the remote wipe and locator service. Although now you get some of that functionality direct through Android, so it isn't as necessary now. The only places I get apps is from Play store and Amazon, and I don't browse many sites. I could get away without anti-virus, but I keep it there out of habit.

 

[RidoKilos]

Lookout includes a VPN security system that you can enable. If you have this turned on it is likely that all traffic is identified as being Lookout data usage due to the secure tunnel. Just speculation though really. You could try disabling this to see what happens.