Lookout has announced a new partnership with Orange that will see its mobile security software pre-installed on Android devices that are sold by the carrier throughout Europe. France, Spain, Slovakia, and the United Kingdom will be first to get the software in early 2013, and more countries will be added throughout the year.

Thanks to the new partnership, Orange customers who opt for Android handsets will be protected from mobile security threats like malware and spyware the moment they take their new device out of its packaging. What’s more, Lookout can help protect against physical threats such as lost or stolen phones.

The company is now locating approximately £4.47 million (approx. $7.2 million) worth of devices every day, and it says that in some European cities, people lose two phones per year on average. But thanks to Lookout’s Missing Device feature, you can track your handset’s location in any web browser.

Lookout’s research also suggests that a whopping 40% of Android users will click on malicious web links using their Android handset next year, which could leave their handsets vulnerable to infection. Lookout also insists that premium text message scams are on the rise, and that in the past year, 78.5% of the company’s malware detections were classified as premium text message malware.

“It is critical we help protect our customers, and this partnership with Lookout allows us to provide additional protection for our customers without them having to take any action, or become experts on mobile security,” said Paul-François Fournier, Executive Vice President, Orange Technocentre. “By investing in Lookout we are ensuring that we will continue to help keep our customers safe in the future, and that the Orange & Publicis initiative with Iris Capital is supporting a company that is positioned to become a global leader in the digital economy.”

But with Lookout installed on your Orange Android handset from day one, these security threats can be avoided. Lookout is already protecting more than 25 million mobile users from malware, phishing, data loss, and phone loss or theft — and its service currently boasts a 4.5-star rating from more than 380,000 users on Google Play.

And don’t worry about Lookout slowing down your device; the company promises that its “unique innovation” means the app barely uses any resources — including battery power. In fact, there’s no good reason not to have it installed on your handset.

You don’t need to be an Orange customer to take advantage of Lookout, of course. The app can be downloaded to any Android handset from Google Play, and a lot of its features — including malware protection — are free to use.

• SourceLookout