Q. Wouldn’t one way to stop spam be to reply to it and sound interested in whatever is being sold? If enough people did this, the creeps sending spam would be inundated with fake requests for information and would stop spamming. Wouldn’t that work, Mr. M?

A. You may be comforted to know that there is an Internet subculture comprised of computer- and Internet-savvy individuals who do respond to spam, an activity known as “spam baiting.” But while the idea sounds peachy in theory, if you start responding to all the vitamin, Viagra, mortgage, and adult-type spam received, you’re going to be the recipient of even more spam. Replying to spam lets senders know that their message reached a live body, and it was actually viewed. That makes your email address more valuable, which means that it will be sold to other spammers at a premium.

Cudos to you for your creative thinking, but when all is said and done, it’s best not to respond to spam in any manner, and that includes clicking links in spam that invite you to “Click here to be removed from our mailing list.” Doing so is tantamount to saying, “I love spam. Please send me all you’ve got!”

Q. When a window pops up and tells me that my computer has spyware, is that legitimate or is it a trick to get me to buy some software, which is what I think it is?

A. You’re wise to question those types of message alerts that appear out of nowhere. In most instances, they are nothing more than advertisements designed to frighten you into buying a given product. If the message is not from your installed anti-spyware program, yet it encourages you to “click here” to protect your computer or remove some mysterious infestation, reach for the delete key. Nobody is out there on the Internet watching out for your system’s well-being, as a friendly gesture or because they care so deeply.

I use SpySweeper and AdAware, but other excellent anti-spyware programs include SpyBot Search & Destroy, and AVG Anti-Spyware, among others. No single anti-spyware program will detect or remove all spyware, so using two programs can increase your level of protection. Whatever anti-spyware application you choose to use, be sure to keep it updated and run a full system scan daily.

Q. I have a lot of bookmarked Web sites that I haven’t visited in a long time. My guess is that some of the sites don’t exist anymore. Is there any way I can find out which sites are working and which ones may have disappeared, without having to visit each site individually?

A. The AM-DeadLink detector is an excellent little utility that does exactly what you’re asking. It not only detects dead links, but it also detects duplicate links. AM-DeadLink is free and works with Internet Explorer, Netscape, Firefox, and Opera, running under all versions of Windows, including Vista.

Mr. Modem's Sites of the Week:

A Playground for the Mind
If you like games that challenge your mind and allow you to exercise your intellectual skills—or in my case, that remind me just how few remaining neurons I have—this is the place for you. The site features word games, card games, typing games, memory games, math games, and logic puzzles.
www.playwithyourmind.com

Imagination
Get jiggy with your cursor and have some fun! Move your mouse around, depress the left mouse button, and enjoy your creativity.
www.neave.com/lab/misc/imagination.html

OnlineAuction.com
Considered by many auction enthusiasts as the “other” auction (eBay being the other-other auction), OnlineAuction claims that it’s the easiest online auction to use, that it features more favorable pricing than does eBay, and that it bends over backwards to treat buyers and sellers fairly. Online Auction recently celebrated the listing of its 8 millionth item. Going once, going twice…
www.onlineauction.com

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