Just a few days after Vodafone announced their anti-virus Android software, Google has beaten them to the punch.

A new security measure, called "Bouncer", will automatically scan all apps for Malware like spyware, trojans, and other dangerous downsides to our smartphone lifestyle. It will also look out for other suspicious behaviour that may be a lead in to "phishing" for people's bank account details or stealing online identities.

If anything at all is detected, the app will be flagged for manual confirmation that it is or is not safe for users. Once confirmed, it will be quickly blocked or taken down from Android's free-for-all app store.

This will be a relief for Android users, particularly after the recent outburst of virus reports. Lookout, a mobile security firm, found 1000 malicious Android apps last year. Most of these were on third party sites, but some were actually available on the Android Market, where Google has since removed nearly eighty apps that contained malware.

The new addition to Android's security may make its open marketplace much more enticing, as the dangers of an app store open to everyone can be blocked and kept away from consumers. Smartphone users can relax again.

No word, however, on how this may or may not affect sales of Vodafone's $36/year anti-virus software. While Vodafone's software does, of course, boast more features than just keeping away nasty apps, a lot of those features were already provided by Android software. Nevertheless, Vodafone's software has been developed by the same makers of McAfee, the PC virus protection software, and would doubtless be a comfort and extra security to have on your phone.

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