The second coming of the Code Red Worm, computer virus or malicious program, has been noted by Reuters News --

http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml;jsessionid=YZOOPIFV0GRYCCRBAEZSFEY?type=topnews&StoryID=149413

For two days, now, the @Home cable-modem network has been trying to deal with some kind of extraordinary activity. In less than thirty-six hours, the Pentium II 450 computer which I use to access Rumor Mill News and the AOL network has been queried over six hundred times, nearly all them being "http attempts" from other machines on the @Home network, especially coming from the States of New Jersey and Tennessee.

It is my earnest belief that Faction 1 has chosen New Jersey as one of its principal battlegrounds in the on-going struggle with Faction 2 and the principled opponents of the New World Order.

I don't know, yet, what relevance this has -- if any -- to the Code Red worm program. In casual comments, an @Home technical support employee confirmed for me yesterday that there is a "cyber-war" raging and that many attacks seem to be coming from communist-controlled Hong Kong and the principal universities in mainland China. The current version of Code Red seems to be attacking computers in China! This may represent a "switcheroo" or counter-attack by computer-sophisticates here in the U.S.

I have also observed, with some dismay, that the technical schools in southern Korea have all installed very good and sophisticated computer servers in recent months. Many are running Linux and Apache. They are fast and reliable.

Their security for these machines is pathetically poor. Many queries for "http" or "printer" access come from these Korean technical schools. Yesterday, however, for the first time I noted a query from a Russian source. Furthermore, I have been hit by dozens of "Backdoor Trojan SubSeven" attempts in the last two or three days. This is nothing new but it is worrisome.

The folks who are selling high-speed Internet access via cable modems are not doing a very good job of informing their new customers about the need for a firewall on their machines. More and more people are also linking two home PC's to create their own family networks -- each with an I.P. address. Personal firewalls made available by Symnatec (Norton), or other companies are now an essential element in high-speed computing. They are very effective and much less expensive than having a network device or hardware firewall, which is also a useful solution.

Having a cable modem for access to the Internet and for surfing AOL's domain is a good thing. Don't be afraid to switch over, since the deals the companies are making are so very good right now (and the dial-up access via phone lines is so much slower).

But get yourself a firewall. Every citizen should own a firewall and a firearm (or ten). Be connected but be prepared.