The Nyxem.E virus, expected to start deleting files today (Feb 3rd), has not done as much damage as many experts predicted.
As many as 300,000 Windows computers across the globe were known to be infected with the virus. However, security groups believe that very few users were ultimately affected by the virus, and even less lost data. Experts suggested that the wide publicity the virus received prior to today lead to users patching up and deploying anti-virus solutions.
Mail filters have intercepted over a million copies of the Nyxem.E virus, which is a variant of code originally seen in early 2004. When the virus infects PCs, it deletes files of eleven popular formats. It is set on a timer, set to "go off" on the 3rd of every month. The virus tricked users into running the program by the promise of pornography.