Akismet WordPress Plugin 3.1.10

by Christopher Finke April 1, 2016

Version 3.1.10 of the Akismet plugin for WordPress is now available.

This update fixes a bug that could cause comments caught as spam to end up in the Pending queue. It also fixes the History entries for comments caught by WordPress’s built-in Comment Blacklist in WordPress 4.4 or later.

Version 3.1.10 is confirmed compatible with WordPress 4.5, which is coming soon.

To upgrade, visit the Updates page of your WordPress dashboard and follow the instructions. If you need to download the plugin zip file directly, links to all versions are available in the WordPress plugins directory.

Akismet WordPress Plugin 3.1.9

by Christopher Finke March 28, 2016

Version 3.1.9 of the Akismet plugin for WordPress is now available.

This update adds compatibility that allows Akismet to be auto-configured, and it fixes a bug where some comment data wouldn’t get included in the Akismet API request.

To upgrade, visit the Updates page of your WordPress dashboard and follow the instructions. If you need to download the plugin zip file directly, links to all versions are available in the WordPress plugins directory.

Akismet WordPress Plugin 3.1.8 Now Available

by Christopher Finke March 4, 2016

Version 3.1.8 of the Akismet plugin for WordPress is now available.

This update improves compatibility with plugins that rewrite admin URLs. It also reduces the amount of space Akismet uses in the database and reduces the size of the Akismet API requests. A fix is also included for a bug that could have caused comment moderation emails to be sent for some comments that were caught as spam.

To upgrade, visit the Updates page of your WordPress dashboard and follow the instructions. If you need to download the plugin zip file directly, links to all versions are available in the WordPress plugins directory.

Akismet WordPress Plugin 3.1.7

by Christopher Finke January 4, 2016

Version 3.1.7 of the Akismet plugin for WordPress is now available.

This update fixes a bug that caused Akismet’s “Remove author URL” feature to be incompatible with WordPress 4.4, and it improves the post-activation process for those using screen readers or other assistive devices.

To upgrade, visit the Updates page of your WordPress dashboard and follow the instructions. If you need to download the plugin zip file directly, links to all versions are available in the WordPress plugins directory.

Akismet 3.1.5: Security Release

by Christopher Finke October 13, 2015

Version 3.1.5 of the Akismet plugin for WordPress contains a critical security fix. Update your sites as soon as possible.

A researcher from Sucuri notified us of an XSS vulnerability in the Akismet WordPress plugin. This bug affects all versions of the Akismet WordPress plugin since 2.5.0, but we have no evidence that it has been exploited in the wild.

We’ve released updates for all vulnerable versions of the Akismet plugin. Additionally, the WordPress.org plugins team has enabled an automatic update for all sites running these vulnerable versions that are able to auto-update plugins.

Because the vulnerability is theoretically exploitable via comments, Akismet is already blocking attempts during the comment-check API call even if you are not running the most recent version. However, to be as safe as possible, you should still upgrade immediately.

To upgrade, visit the Updates page of your WordPress dashboard and follow the instructions. If you need to download the plugin zip file directly, links to all versions are available in the WordPress plugins directory.

Akismet WordPress Plugin 3.1.4

by Christopher Finke September 24, 2015

Version 3.1.4 of the Akismet plugin for WordPress is now available.

This update clarifies the error messages that Akismet uses so that they’re easier to understand, and it enables link previews in the admin for all links in a comment — not just the author’s website link. A fix is also included for a bug that could have caused comment moderation emails to be sent for some comments that were caught as spam. For a full list of the changes in this release, see the revision log.

To upgrade, visit the Updates page of your WordPress dashboard and follow the instructions. If you need to download the plugin zip file directly, links to all versions are available in the WordPress plugins directory.

Quantifying Reddit Bigotry

by Anthony Bubel August 27, 2015

Update (2015-08-30): It looks like the team who created the tool decided to retire it due to some reported accuracy concerns.

We never pass on the opportunity to mix in a little bit of humor with our passion for web content moderation.

One of our engineers, Dan Walmsley, participated in Cultivated Wit’s Comedy Hack Day in Los Angeles last weekend, and his team’s resulting project has since surfaced on Motherboard and Engadget.

Free Reddit Check, created by Dan’s team and crowned with the day’s top prize, is a site which attempts to quantify the terribleness of Reddit users based on their public comment content and subreddit participation. While perfectly suited for a hack day which pairs developers and comedians, there is certainly usefulness in determining the respectability of a potential online acquaintance. Or just knowing who to ignore.

And being obsessed with content analysis, community moderation, and keeping the web’s underbelly in check, we can’t help but think it’s a nifty idea.

Akismet WordPress Plugin 3.1.3

by Christopher Finke July 6, 2015

Version 3.1.3 of the Akismet plugin for WordPress is now available.

This update addresses an issue causing some users to see blank Akismet settings screens. After installing this update, the settings screen should either load successfully, or it will display an error message with instructions for fixing the problem.

To upgrade, visit the Updates page of your WordPress dashboard and follow the instructions. If you need to download the plugin zip file directly, links to all versions are available in the WordPress plugins directory.