Thanks i found it under plugins...wow i didnt even know that was there....i was gettin NAILED with SPAM Rep given! - But it would have been nice if it was Free!
I know the feeling, I'd say over 90% of my blog comments are spam. (thousands a day) It is free, they just haven't made it that obvious . There is a link when you have to get the API key called "use Akismet for free!" at the bottom.
Try my plugin Spammer Blocker. This plugin blocks all visitors who posted a comment that was later marked as a spam. Annoying spammers will never be allowed to access your site again.
This plugin is absolutely free. Spammer Blocker is very good for those people who wants to have a full controll over blocked users. Akismet does not provide this oportunity. Akismet makes mistakes. It is only an automatic program that marks as a spam even normal comments from normal users who do not post spam. You can use Akismet and Spammer Blocker together. But there is a possibility that a normal guy will be immediately banned if Akismet makes a wrong "decision" (this situation sometime happens). -- I recommend you installing SB and Invisible Defender (this plugin creates invisible inputs that must stay unfulfilled - bots usually fill every field). This combination is very powerful if you besides approve every visitor's first comment, so spam comments have no chance to appear on your site - their authors will be banned until you delete their comments (and also IP addresses) from your database.
Akismet + Manual moderation will really help you. Or you can add captcha plugin as well for extra safety.