Version 5.5 of the Akismet plugin for WordPress is now available. This update contains the following improvements:

• We’ve enabled webhooks for all users. Webhooks allow the Akismet servers to do extra processing for certain comments without making your site wait for a response. If a comment is determined to be spam, the Akismet server will notify your site once the extra processing is done. This should reduce spam without affecting performance, and that’s a Good Thing.
• We’ve ensured that the CSS for the Akismet widget is only included when the widget is included. And that’s a Good Thing.
• We’ve improved the color contrast on certain buttons for better accessibility. And that’s a Good Thing.

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.