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Smart User Slug Hider
Hide usernames in Author Pages URLs to enhance Security
The facts
- Rating
- 4.9★ from 55
- Active installs
- 3k+
- Price
- Free
- Last updated
- 17 Apr 2024
- Added
- Oct 2014
- Requires WP
- 4.0
- Tested up to
- WP 6.3.10
- Requires PHP
- 5.4
- Downloads
- 54,445
Our analysis
AI-assistedSmart User Slug Hider is a WordPress plugin designed to enhance security by hiding usernames in author page URLs. It replaces user names with 16-digit coded strings, making it difficult to deduce actual usernames from the URLs.
The plugin operates without any settings; once installed, it works automatically. If deactivated, it reverts to the default WordPress behaviour. However, development and support for this plugin have been retired as of October 2023.
Best for: This plugin suits users looking to enhance the security of author page URLs on their WordPress sites.
What it does well
- ✓Hides usernames in author page URLs
- ✓Automatically generates coded strings
- ✓No settings required; install and forget
- ✓Includes shortcodes for user slug and profile links
Where it falls short
- •No longer maintained or supported
- •Might not work with future WordPress updates
Verdict
Smart User Slug Hider provides a straightforward solution for hiding usernames, but its lack of ongoing support may be a concern for some users.
From the developer
Peter Raschendorfer's own description of Smart User Slug Hider, lightly tidied.
The Smart User Slug Hider Plugin hides usernames in Author Pages URLs to enhance Security
Retired Plugin
Development, maintenance and support of this plugin has been retired in october 2023. You can use this plugin as long as is works for you.
There will be no more updates and I won’t answer any support questions. Thanks for your understanding.
Feel free to fork this plugin.
Usage
The plugin automatically replaces user names with 16 digits coded strings. There are no settings. Just install and forget. Deactivating the Plugin restores the default WordPress behavior.
Why use this plugin?
WordPress uses the pattern example.com/author/name for author page URLs where name represents the users login name.
This means that the login names from all your users are publicly visible which is a serious security flaw.
The Smart User Slug Hider Plugin changes all author page URLs from e.g. example.com/author/john to something like example.com/author/e9e716def73f76ac.
The codes are generated automatically and its impossible to make conclusions about the user names. The WordPress default URLs will cause a 404 (not found) error.
Shortcodes
The plugin adds three shortcodes you can use in your posts:
[smart_user_slug]– the user slug of the post author – e.g. e9e716def73f76ac[smart_user_url]– the url of the post author’s profile page – e.g. example.com/author/e9e716def73f76ac[smart_user_link]– adds a link to the post author’s profile page
Theme Functions
Tagged as
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