Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions
Q		What browsers are compatible with this site?
A		We recommend Internet Explorer from Microsoft. It is free and provides additional formatting capabilities for tables. Netscape Navigator is also a good choice. The trading area requires a browser that supports tables, frames, and Java Script. Java applets may be added in the future.


Q		Can I change the securities in the scrolling marquee in the trading area? How often does the marquee update?
A		You need to use Microsoft's Explorer for the scrolling to work. These symbols can not be changed at this time. The prices are updated every minute.

Q		Is there a limit on the number of quote pages I can create in the trading area?
A		Currently there is no limit. This may change in the future to some reasonably large number.

Q		Can I trade with a broker directly?
A		Yes, but increased commissions will apply. See the Commission Schedule.

Q		Sometimes it is hard to tell when I click on a menu if the command is working. Can this be improved?
A		Depending on network traffic and your connection, there is a delay between clicking on the menu item and the resulting page display. We plan to improve this by providing an enhanced menu (possibly using JAVA) to provide immediate feedback when you click on an item. Once Freedom's server receives the request, it is processed in less than a second. Almost all delays you see are due to the network traffic and bandwidth between your browser and Freedom's server.

Q		I can not see all of the menu choices in my browser. How can I fix this?
A		This site works best with screen resolutions of 800x600 or greater. At 640x480 you should still be able to see the entire menu if you maximize your browser window. Also, if you are using Microsoft's internet explorer, you can shrink the size of the tool bar region at the top to provide more screen area. We are considering creating an alternative menu for those that use 640x480.

Error Messages
Q		After a few minutes of inactivity, I get an error message that starts with 'UNABLE TO COMPLETE LAST REQUEST ...' when I click on a menu item. What causes this?
A		The trading area requires a secure connection. As a precaution for when you may leave your browser unattended, access is denied after 5 minutes of inactivity. If this occurs, you need to login again.

Q		I get an error message: 'An I/O error has occurred during security authorization. Please try your connection again.' This happens in the trading area when I try and access certain pages. How can I fix this?
A		Fixed as of 4/20/97. If you still receive this error, email customer support and include your browser name and version. For clarity, the original answer is provided below: If you are using Netscape Navigator, you can avoid this error if you disable SSL version 3. You can do this from Options/Security Preferences - uncheck the SSL v3 box. This will force the browser to use SSL version 2 - the connection will still be secure. This error does not occur if you use Microsoft's Internet Explorer. This error also only occurs when large pages of dynamic data are accessed such as a large number of transactions or a fully populated quote page. You can reduce the size of the result page by reducing the date range for transactions or limiting yourself to 16 quotes on a quote page and still use SSL 3 in your Navigator. We are working with Microsoft and Netscape as it appears to be a bug in either the client browsers SSL 3 implementation or the Servers SSL 3 implementation for dynamic pages via a DLL. We hope to get this resolved soon - once it is resolved we will post a message here to let you know when the Navigator SSL 3 connection is 100%.

Customer Support
Q		How do I reach customer support?
A		You can reach customer support via E-Mail. You can also reach support during normal market hours at 1-800-944-4033. You should include your browser name and version number and the operating system you are using (Windows 3.x, Windows 95, Mac).

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