FAQs

What are the requirements for participating?
MoneyBee runs on all Windows versions from W95 upwards - so, no problems with W95, W98, W2000 and NT. Unfortunately, this is not yet possible for Unix systems and Macintosh - the users of these operating systems will probably only be too well aware of the problem. We are working on a solution.

I do not live in Germany - can I join in anyway?
MoneyBee is not limited to natural or political borders - everyone can and should participate. The information and forecasts we generate are, however, best developed for the German market - i.e. those shares, exchange rates and indices that are of interest to German users.

Can my computer catch a virus with the tasks?
You are right to be cautious: never open any files that have been sent to you unsolicited if you do not trust the source (E-mail is the most common cause of virus contamination!). This also applies to any software you trust. - We have tested MoneyBee to our best knowledge and conscience and according to the current technological status quo for viruses, so you need not fear. Users mostly have their doubts in cases that pose the least threat: the data exchange process (results and new tasks) between MoneyBee and the BienenStock database is based upon text files. No programs or similar commands are activated that a virus might contaminate. Therefore, you are perfectly safe against viruses with MoneyBee® !

I do not know much about stocks, but find it all very exciting - how much knowledge do I need to be able to participate?
No knowledge is required, just run the setup and take it from there. Every new user helps the project and can access all information immediately. That is exactly one of the advantages of MoneyBee: the difficult work of preparing and analysing the forecast calculations is done by us. Should you have knowledge and more in-depth questions, further background information is also available. Should this not be enough, you can E-mail us directly - we look forward to any form of dialogue with our users. For users who wish to delve deeper into the system we are planning computing visualisation possibilities that take place on your PC. We will be keeping you up-to-date of our progress on www.moneybee.net website.

Will MoneyBee tell me which stocks to buy - can I get rich with this?
MoneyBee is not a purchase or sales consultant, not a broker in the sense of Bonds and Securities Law - MoneyBee is a technical stock price analysis. It only complements information that you should also take into account: news, fundamental corporate data, feelings and opinions on the market etc. Put these together and many have already become rich - with only one of these modules alone, probably only a few. MoneyBee works well as a timing assistant: the forecasts might often be advantageous for the choice of when you might wish to buy or sell stocks, even if you should make the decision based on other reasons.

Do I have any obligations when registering with MoneyBee?
You are not obliged to do anything. You will receive non-obligatory tasks from us for your screensaver to compute. In return, our website will be at your disposal and access to the results of all of the calculations after they have been processed and analysed. If tasks are not carried out, it is a shame and also weakens the total performance somewhat, but such setbacks have been taken into account and will not disturb the entire system. A beehive never falls to pieces just because individual bees are lost! However, in the case of users who do not contribute computing time, we reserve the right to expel them from the BienenStock® and bar access to the collectively computed forecasts.

How long does it take until it all gets started?
You can get going immediately. Simply download the MoneyBee screensaver and start the setup process. This is how it works: click on the download button, and download onto your own PC, install it (just double-click the downloaded file), follow the instructions. Finished! Next, the screensaver will need a task from the Internet. When it has received this, it will start computing as soon as the PC runs the screensaver program. With your user name and password, you will receive immediate access to the forecast information on our website.

How do I know what data my computer exchanges via the Internet with the BienenStock® database?
Let us be quite open: this is only information required or helpful for the calculation of stock prices on the path trodden by us. We also transmit safety checks to ensure a smooth transmission of data - yet it would be no use trying to trick or manipulate these data. All tasks submitted to us are quality-controlled in our database. If it does not fit, it will not be taken into account. Whoever tries to manipulate the system will be banned.

Can I run MoneyBee parallel on several computers?
Yes, you may install MoneyBee on several computers. If you register each computer with the user name and password of your first account, these computers will compute for your one account. In this way, you will also be able to improve your ranking.

Where can I see the forecasts in the screensaver?
Warning: no current forecasts can be seen on the screensaver - only the forecasts for the training periods in the past. The net learns on the basis of these historical data. It only becomes a valuable forecast for the future due to current data in the BienenStock® database - i.e. upon submission of the task. Up-to-date forecasts can therefore only be accessed on the uk.moneybee.net website in the area reserved for members. What you can see on the screensaver is how the net is trained and slowly improves - the more congruent the two curves in the centre are, the better the quality of the net as one can see in the upper left-hand diagram.

What will participation in MoneyBee cost me financially and materially?
On average, MoneyBee requires approximately 15 seconds to exchange data packets - if you have a low-cost provider and submit one task per week it will cost you no more than 2 cents per month. MoneyBee is a screensaver that does not cost you anything if use your PC normally. Were we to assume, however, that you were to leave your PC running occasionally for MoneyBee: even in such a case, the electricity and material costs are low. MoneyBee only accesses the hard drive as soon as it changes the net - i.e. briefly every few hours (easy on your hardware). If you set your PC's energy mode so that maybe the monitor goes into sleep mode after a few minutes and the hard drive follows after, say, half an hour, you can leave the CPU running all night at only a few watts, for example. The electricity costs incurred would amount to approximately 3 to 4 cents per data packet (based on an hourly expenditure of approximately 35 watts).

What good will it do me if I tell others about MoneyBee?
There is little point in keeping MoneyBee a secret - for the more people participate, the better the forecasts will be for all and the more stock forecasts we can offer. Here, you can read up on MoneyBee's Computing Capacity. Insect states show the way: ant and bee populations are so successful because they subordinate their entire performance for the good of the community. We do not even demand that much - your screensaver will do ;-)! Quite simply: send your friends and acquaintances a short E-mail explaining the fascination and use value of our project, and tell others about MoneyBee. Or use the comfortable "Recommend" button on our pages. /

If my screensaver does not run often enough for me to submit enough tasks - when will my access to the website, where the forecasts are published, expire?
We do not require that each user submit new results every day - every few days or weeks already helps. And should you go on holiday you will not be punished with blocked access. If we have not received anything for 4 weeks, you will receive an E-mail query, provided you gave us your address. If not, the account will be deleted. That is not all that bad, however: should you decide to participate again, you may register again quite quickly.

I am only interested in particular stocks - can I decide what I want to compute?
For the time being we have to distribute the tasks, for everybody's good: computing capacity is still a rare resource for MoneyBee. As soon as MoneyBee is more famous and has more users we will also be able to fulfil special requests. We already have plenty of good ideas!

Sometimes, the market crashes - can MoneyBee predict this? And what about the influence of unforeseeable events on the market?
MoneyBee can provide good forecasts - yet it is no burning bush. In normal market phases, MoneyBee provides good forecasts. But a crash is, by definition, an abnormal event, and an earthquake in Taiwan or the results of a US presidential election cannot be taken into account either. But, even in these cases, MoneyBee can help: in the event of a crash not everybody loses out - whoever buys cheaply in the dent can even make quite a profit, or with options on sinking stocks etc. Even in turbulent times, MoneyBee is a good timing aid, before and after unpredictable events! In any case, technical stock analysis only complements a good investor's other considerations. And by the way: MoneyBee is the first system in the world that hands the end user such a powerful technical analysis tool with such computing capacity!

What guarantee can MoneyBee give for the correctness of the stock price forecasts?
Quite clearly, none at all. Some forecasts are good, others less so. But we do not make a secret out of it. On the basis of scientifically documented and objective criteria, we constantly double-check our predictions and impart the results to our readers on uk.moneybee.net. But MoneyBee is no brokerage tool according to Bonds and Securities Law, we do not recommend the purchase or sale of any stocks. We only calculate forecasts for the stock market on the basis of complex mathematical computing methods, that investors can take into account in their decisions. Especially in the case of timing stock transactions, this can be of great help and upon regular observation of our reports you can expand upon your knowledge of the stock market in an interesting sector.

If I give MoneyBee my E-mail address, what type of E-mails will I receive?
Precisely what we state: further information on MoneyBee, and only as much as is of use to you. If you find it is too much, please contact us - or simply opt-out of the newsletter mailing list. Of course, we guarantee that your E-mail address will not be passed on or sold to other companies. Please refer to our Statement of Security and Privacy.