In Blogging Basics Part 2 - Blog Optimization, I mentioned some plugins that you should install.  I am here to say that the most important and helpful free plugin that you need to install and use is Akismet.

So what does Akismet do?  It catches comment and trackback/pingback spam.  With all of the spammers out there, we need a way to deal with them.  It would take way too long to read and delete the large amount of spam comments that you receive.

The more popular your blog becomes, the more prone you are to spam comments.  Once a comment is submitted, Akismet will perform its detection services and will return the comment as legitimate or mark it as spam.  Akismet keeps a running total of all the spam comments that it has caught for you. 

Spam comments are kept for 15 days before they are automatically deleted.  Some say that there is no need to check the spam list.  I have seen a couple of legitimate comments get caught in spam so my suggestion is to keep an eye on it.  On the other hand, a spam comment can slip through once in a while.  All you need to do is mark it as spam and it disappears.

You will need to get a WordPress.com API key in order to start running the Akismet plugin.  All you have to do is sign up for a Wordpress.com account and check your email for details.  Once you have your key which is listed on your Wordpress.com profile page, you will need to go to your blog Dashboard, then to Plugins, and then to Akismet Configuration in order to enter it in.

If you want to learn more, you can go to the Akismet.com.