Code Red II `Worm' Slows Surfers on Web.

Byline: Kathy Brister

Aug. 10--"Code Red II," the latest incarnation of a rogue computer program clogging networks worldwide, has hit home with some metro Atlanta high-speed Internet customers.

AT&T Broadband customers who subscribe to cable modem service have reported slow or stalled Web surfing for several days.

"We have had ... customers affected by the Code Red II (worm), but primarily due to the effects of the (worm) and not because they were actually infected with it," said AT&T Broadband spokesman Reg Griffin. "(It) can ping computers much faster on our high-speed network."

While cable company engineers are monitoring Code Red II, nobody can say how long networks may be tied up. The worm is expected to replicate until Oct. 1, said Dennis Treece of Atlanta-based Internet Security Systems.

Not all computers plugged into AT&T Broadband's network are being infected by Code Red II. In fact, many are likely to have a protective, worm-thwarting software patch installed. But their online speeds still are being slowed because the worm sucks up bandwidth as it replicates.

Here's how Code Red II operates: It's a worm, not a virus, because it burrows into computer systems without help from computer users. Most viruses require people to activate them by downloading a file or opening an infected e-mail message.