Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2001 | 10:46 a.m.
WASHINGTON -- Anti-virus researchers were fighting a new Internet attacker today similar to the "Code Red" worm that infected hundreds of thousands of computers several months ago.
The worm, known as "W32.Nimda," had affected "thousands, possibly tens of thousands" of targets by midday today, according to Vincent Gullotto, head virus fighter at McAfee.com, a software company.
Even when the attack isn't successful, the worm's scanning process can slow down the Internet for many users and can have the effect of knocking websites or entire company networks offline.
The FBI is investigating the worm, said spokeswoman Debbie Weierman. The agency has not indicated whether the worm is connected to last week's terrorism attacks.
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