Between anti virus and phone recovery when stolen, cnet review three top Android security apps. With these apps you will protect your phone from virus, easily recover your phone if stolen, and get protectin from phishing.

If you send your rooted Motorola XOOM for 4G LTE upgrade, it will be sent right back.

A forum moderator in the same Motorola support thread indicates that it’s not quite as hard-line as the first responder indicated, and that your XOOM simply must be stock in terms of software functionality when Motorola receives it. This means a flash back to factory settings and software will allow your previously booted ‘n rooted XOOM to be upgraded.

European dual-core enthusiast promised their way back in January from LG, however the Korean OEM schedule has slipped evidently, as we bid adios to the month of February. Good news is that LG will definitely, be releasing its Optimus 2X in “key European markets” this March. It’ll ship with Froyo on board, however a Gingerbread update is promised. The last we checked the price on Amazon’s German branch the handset priced under €500, which sounds about right for its eventual unlocked price.

Two new spyware programs infecting the Android phones has been caught. The two programs – SW.SecurePhone and SW.Qieting, can release an unsettling amount of personal information from an infected phone.

SW.SecurePhone is an app that has no icon and runs continuously in the background. The app gathers data from your text messages, call log, and pictures, and uploads them to a remote server. SW.SecurePhone can also obtain your phone’s location information and record sounds around the device.

SW.Qieting forwards your incoming messages to a monitoring phone.

Since neither of the two apps have an icon, it’s hard to tell whether you are infected or not. To help users stay safe, NetQin offers the following advice:

1. Download applications from trusted sources and check reviews, ratings, and developer information before downloading anything.
2. Pay close attention to app permissions. An application should not request to do more than what it offers in its official list of features.
3.  Be on alert for unusual fees in your phone bill as this may be a sign your phone is infected.
4. Install a trusted security application to protect your phone.

As Android gains popularity, more and more malware makers are beginning to target the platform. Hence, it is wise to install an antivirus program on your Android phone.