Silk Browser App For Mac

Nowadays people are searching for the Kindle Fire Silk Browser Alternatives as silk browser is slow and has some security issues. Security is a big issue in this browser ass usually the individuals always interact with the Amazon clouds and never can interact directly with the secure websites. Mar 09, 2012 Amazon's Silk browser precaches popular websites on Amazon servers in an attempt to speed up your Web browsing, and until recently it was exclusive to the Kindle Fire.

One of the coolest features of the Kindle Fire is Amazon's proprietary Silk browser, an application designed to leverage Amazon's massive server resources by precaching Web pages and delivering them to you faster--in theory--than any other browser. It works by preloading all the content (including music, images, and video) on popular websites to Amazon's remote servers first, and then delivering the entire package to your mobile device in a single stream of data. Amazon calls it a 'cloud-accelerated' browser, and it's the first of it's kind.

Sounds cool, right? Cool enough to try hacking the Silk browser onto your Android device? If you think so, read on, and we’ll show you how to do it. Before we dive in, a word of warning: You need a PC running Windows and a compatible rooted Android device for this hack. The creator of Amazon Silk Port maintains a device compatability list that you should check first to ensure that the hack will work with your device. Remember, even if your device is supported, the hack is not guaranteed to work, and you run the risk of damaging or destroying your device.

Prep Your Device

First, you'll need to download the latest version of the SilkPort file package from a third-party hosting service. Scan the package for viruses and unpack it into a directory on your desktop.

Next, put your Android phone or tablet into Recovery mode. The method for doing this differs depending on what device you're hacking (for testing purposes, we successfully hacked a Galaxy Nexus), and especially on whether your device sports a physical QWERTY keyboard. If it does, you’ll probably need to press the “up” button on the D-pad (toward the screen) and hold it while pressing the Power button until the device boots into Recovery mode. You may also be able to access Recovery mode by pressing and holding the camera button while simultaneously pressing and holding Volume Down, and then pressing the Power button.

Silk Browser App For Mac

Touchscreen-only phones are much easier. In most cases, you can just hold the Volume Down button, and then press the Power button. On the Galaxy Nexus with Ice Cream Sandwich, you press and hold both Volume buttons, and then press Power.

Sideload SilkPort

Once you get your device into Recovery mode, you can install the Silk browser. To do so, you'll first need to transfer the SilkPort files to your device, either by connecting your rooted Android device to your PC via USB or by loading the SilkPort files directly onto a memory card and loading the card into your device.

Next, use an Android file manager app like Root Explorer to copy all the files in the /lib directory of the Silkport file pack you downloaded to the /system/lib directory. Once they've been copied to your device, you’ll need to set their permissions to match the other files in the system/lib directory.

Install the Silk Browser

The final step is to install the Silk browser app itself. The SilkPort file package contains multiple .apk files, and you'll need to install them all on your device. You should be able to do this by tapping them in your Android file management app; just make sure that you have Install From Unknown Sources enabled in your device's Security settings.

Finally, copy the com.amazon.cloud9-1.apk from the /data/app directory to /system/app. Reboot your device, and you should be ready to rock with the Silk browser.

So, how well does Silk work on a hacked Android device? We ran performance tests with a Nexus S running Silk, not running Silk, and then running Silk with Amazon’s AWS Accelerated Page Loading, but the results were not impressive. The Nexus S served pages like PCWorld in about 7 seconds on the standard browser and an average of 6 with Silk; however, it took an average of about 9 seconds to deliver the same page when we turned on Accelerated Page Loading. The larger or more content-intensive the site, the slower the loading. In our tests on the rooted Nexus S, we saw no discernible performance difference using the Silk browser on Wi-Fi, as opposed to 3G, either.

If that seems odd, bear in mind that Amazon has claimed that the Silk browser cloud caching service must operate for a while in order to learn (and thus anticipate) popular browsing habits. Ideally the app should become speedier over time as it figures out what content to load first. That means more people need to start using Silk as their primary browser--so if you have a rooted Android device, this hack should provide an opportunity to put the Silk browser through its paces. Good luck!

The Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick is about more just watching Netflix and streaming Spotify. The devices are also an excellent way to browse the web on your TV.

Two browsers are available in the Amazon Appstore: Firefox and Silk. Both are optimized for the operating system, and both give you the full internet experience. Silk is Amazon’s in-house browser.

As Fire TV owners will already know, you also need to use a browser if you want to access YouTube. Google no longer makes its video service available on the Fire TV platform.

But what is the best browser for the Amazon Fire TV and Amazon Fire TV Stick? And are there any sideloaded apps that can rival Firefox and Silk for the crown? Keep reading to see our comparison and conclusion.

For Watching YouTube

In late 2017, Google and Amazon had a spat. The details aren’t important, but in the fallout, Google axed its YouTube app for Fire TV.

Rather than pandering to its competitor, Amazon rolled out a near-instantaneous update for its devices that introduced web browser capabilities. At the same time, Firefox and Silk became available in the Appstore.

Today, if you click on the YouTube app on your Fire Stick, you’ll be taken to the YouTube homepage in one of the two browsers.

But which is best for watching videos? Well, some users claim Firefox loads videos faster than Silk and buffering is less common. However, in our testing, the difference was barely noticeable.

Unnecessary re-authentication also continues to be a problem on Silk. Some users report being forced to re-enter their credentials several times per week. If you watch a lot of YouTube content, the problem will quickly become tiresome.

For User Interface and Ease of Use

If you use Firefox on the desktop (or even on mobile), you might open the Fire TV version of the app expecting to find many of the same features.

Sadly, you’ll be disappointed. The Firefox browser app on Fire TV is very light on features. In fact, there are only two options you can change in the Settings menu: Send usage data and Clear all cookies and site data.

In contrast, Silk has a much more extensive user interface. The Settings menu lets you edit the cursor, change your autofill preferences, choose the default behavior for passwords, edit privacy settings, change parental controls, and adjust site permissions.

Silk also offers a range of accessibility tools.

However, it’s not necessarily a bad thing that Firefox has fewer features. In truth, most people won’t want, nor need, the same level of detail that you’d get on the desktop version.

If you want a browser that “just works,” Firefox is the better choice. If you love tinkering, you should opt for Silk.

For Bookmarks

On Silk, you can add your own pre-set bookmarks to the main screen. They offer quick access to the sites you use most frequently.

In contrast, Firefox offers eight pre-selected shortcuts. You cannot edit them, you cannot add new ones, and they’re not very useful.

For Cloud Features

Silk relies heavily on Amazon’s Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2). For sites with lots of images or which query lots of domains, it takes the strain off of your Fire TV and improves performance.

Cloud-based page rendering also reduces the size of the local browser cache. Given Fire TV Sticks have a limited amount of memory, it’s a good thing.

On the downside, the use of the cloud raises some privacy concerns. Lots of people might not be comfortable with Amazon acting as a middleman on all your web traffic; the company will be able to see your every move.

If you’d like the other benefits of Silk without compromising your privacy, you can turn off the cloud features. Go to Settings > Advanced > Cloud Features and slide the toggle into the Off position.

For Search

Silk uses the Bing search engine by default, whereas Firefox uses Google. There is no way to change the default behavior on Firefox. Silk users can choose from Bing, Google, Yahoo, and Ask Jeeves.

Although we have previously compared some alternative search engines13 Alternative Search Engines That Find What Google Can't13 Alternative Search Engines That Find What Google Can'tGoogle Search still can't do everything. These 13 alternative search engines can take care of a few niche jobs for you.Read More elsewhere on the site, most people have one they naturally prefer. For such people, this default behavior could be a deal-breaker.

For Parental Controls

The Fire TV and Fire TV Stick are increasingly becoming a standard part of living rooms around the country. Which means many children use the devices to get their daily fix of cartoons.

Clearly, you won’t want your kids to have unfettered access to the web7 Ways Your Children Might Bypass Parental Control Software7 Ways Your Children Might Bypass Parental Control SoftwareJust because you've installed a safety net in parental control software doesn't mean your children won't find a way to navigate through it. Here's how they'll do it!Read More via your Fire TV’s browser, especially if you’ve spent hours following our guide to parental controlsThe Complete Guide to Parental ControlsThe Complete Guide to Parental ControlsThe world of internet-connected devices can be terrifying for parents. If you have young children, we've got you covered. Here's everything you need to know about setting up and using parental controls.Read More and painstakingly configured all the other access points in your home.

If parental controls are important to you, the Silk browser is for you. Firefox on Fire TV does not have any parental control options.

To set parental controls on Silk, open the app and go to Manage > Settings > Parental controls.

For Page Rendering

App

On Silk, you can choose whether the browser serves you the desktop or the mobile version of web pages. Firefox does not offer the same choice.

Switching between the two is easy. Open Silk and press the More button on your remote, then click the Request Desktop Sites button in page’s header.

What About Sideloaded Browsers for Amazon Fire TV?

Because the Fire TV operating system is based on Android, you can sideload apps onto your Fire TV StickHow to Sideload Apps on an Amazon Fire TV StickHow to Sideload Apps on an Amazon Fire TV StickHere's how to install Fire Stick apps that aren't available on Amazon.Read More in the same way as you can sideload apps onto Android TV3 Easy Ways to Access Sideloaded Apps on Android TV3 Easy Ways to Access Sideloaded Apps on Android TVIf you have sideloaded apps on your Android TV, you need a good way to access them.Read More or any other Android-based OS.

Therefore, you can install any browser you want, as long as it’s available in the Google Play Store. There are lots of popular Android browsers to choose from, each of which specializes in a different niche.

It’s important to remember that sideloaded browsers are not optimized for Fire TV devices. Frequently, they do not “play nicely” with the remote. For example, if you sideload Chrome, you will not be able to access the address bar using just the remote. Indeed, you will find some functionality is lost in almost any sideloaded app you try.

Dvd player app for mac sierra. There are two solutions. You can either use a high-quality Bluetooth keyboard or use a third-party app to enable a cursor on your Fire TV StickHow to Use a Mouse With an Amazon Fire Stick When the Remote FailsHow to Use a Mouse With an Amazon Fire Stick When the Remote FailsWhen sideloading apps to an Amazon Fire Stick, you can't navigate them with the device remote control---and that's when you'll need a mouse.Read More.

If these drawbacks don’t put you off and you still want to try a sideloaded browser, the three most common alternatives are Chrome, Opera, and UC Browser:

File Browser App For Mac

Chrome

Chrome offers syncing across all your different devices, incognito browsing, and—if you have the most recent Fire TV model—voice search.

As with Silk, you can choose between the desktop and mobile version of sites.

Opera

Opera has a built-in ad-blocker and an automatic video download button. As such, it’s instantly appealing to Fire TV users where watching is prioritized over reading.

The app also has a customizable homepage and a private browsing feature.

UC Browser

UC Browser offers a night mode, an ad-blocker, and a Facebook mode. The Facebook mode promises to offer faster loading times for the social network than its competitors.

The browser also has a video library which, once again, lends itself perfectly to the Fire TV platform. Videos cover everything from humor and anime to war films and sports.

The Best Browser for Amazon Fire TV Stick Is…

A draw!

There’s no clear winner. Even if you don’t want to dive into the complexities of sideloading an app, it’s still tough to pick a winner between the two native browsers: Firefox and Silk.