Why am I receiving this error?

It appears as though your API key may have been published online – in a blog post or tutorial – and subsequently used by other individuals in an unauthorized manner.

Which should I do?

Go to akismet.com/plans, register a new API key, and get in touch to let us know that you have done so. Moving forward, please make sure that you treat your API key like a password and do not give it to anybody else.

Should I change any of my passwords?

No. We have no reason to believe that this exposure of your API key has led to unauthorized access of any kind. It only allowed unauthorized individuals the ability to activate and use the Akismet service with your API key. But hey – it’s never a bad idea to update your passwords!