A date with Blackworm

The internet virus Blackworm (aka Blackmal, Nyxem, MyWife and Tearec) is timed to leap into action today. It will, the security experts tell us, start deleting files from infected computers half an hour after they are switched on.

A recent posting on F-Secure's virus weblog said that damage has so far been limited but is expected to increase later today. "The vast majority of the machines infected by Nyxem are home computers," it said. "Nothing will happen on them until people get home from work and boot up their machines. Half an hour later the damage starts. The full scope of the problem won't come to light until during the weekend or early next week."