Nyxem has been programmed to delete a number of common document format files such as Power Point presentations, Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, Adobe Acrobat PDFs, zipped and PSD files starting on the 3rd of February and the third of every month thereafter. Besides destroying files, the worm also attempts to disable anti-virus software so that it stops updating, delete important Windows registry entries and it can also disable the mouse and keyboard of infected PCs. It has also been reported that some Internet users have already lost important files after becoming infected by the Nyxem worm mainly because the clock time on their computer was wrong. Many users have had to reformat their hard drive as well.

Many antivirus manufacturers have already released patches for Nyxem, but it is estimated that thousands of computers are still infected. Most of these infected PCs are believed to be located in India, Turkey and Peru but many other computer systems worldwide could be hit since the Nyxem virus will attempt to mail copies of itself to contacts in a user's address book.

The worm also tries to spread through the same local network as any computer it has compromised.

To prevent getting infected by the Nyxem worm and the loss of critical data files you should not open attachments or click on Web links within these e-mails, especially if these e-mails have a porn-related subject line or suggest that it contains exotic pictures. The worm uses an icon tries to disguise itself as a .zip file. You should also backup any important files that you want to preserve. It is also recommended to scan your computer for viruses.