Hide My WP Ghost is now WP Ghost. Same product, same team since 2016.
All Security Features

Make Your WordPress Site
Invisible to Hackers

WordPress security plugin with 7G/8G firewall, brute force protection, 2FA & passkeys. 150+ features, zero core file changes.

4.8

G2 · Capterra · AppSumo

4.7

WordPress.org

250K+

active installs

0.03s

average load impact

30-day money-back guarantee · Works on every major host · No core files modified · Deactivate anytime

 [ 01] How It Works

Three layers between hackers and your site

Hacker bots don’t pick targets manually. They scan the internet looking for WordPress signals and attack whatever they find. Hide My WP Ghost breaks that chain at every step.

HIDE & HARDEN

01

Disappear from automated scanners completely.

Bots can’t attack what they can’t fingerprint. Hide My WP Ghost removes every WordPress signal from your site.

BLOCK & FILTER

02

Stop attacks at the firewall, before they reach PHP.

Application-layer protection that hosting firewalls can’t provide. Attacks blocked before they hit your code.

MONITOR & ALERT

03

Know what’s happening on your site, in real time.

Detection speed determines recovery cost. Hide My WP Ghost shows you every threat as it happens – not three months later.

✓ No core files modified ✓ Reversible anytime ✓ Setup in 5 minutes

 [ 02 ] Featured Capabilities

The features that matter most

Below we go deeper on what makes Hide My WP Ghost different. For complete technical documentation on any feature, see our Knowledge Base.

F01
Free

Hide wp-admin
& wp-login.php

The login page is hacker target #1

Every WordPress site uses the same default URL  yourdomain.com/wp-login.php or /wp-admin. Hide My WP Ghost lets you create a custom login URL and serves a 404 on the default paths. Brute force attempts drop to virtually zero overnight. No file is physically modified.

F02
Free

Brute Force Attack
Protection

Stops thousands of failed logins per minute

Most attacks hit /xmlrpc.php and /wp-login.php. Hide My WP Ghost stops them at three levels: hides the login URL, limits failed attempts with auto-lockout, and adds CAPTCHA on login forms. Extends to WooCommerce, MemberPress, lost password and signup forms.

F03
Free

Math CAPTCHA
& Google reCAPTCHA

Block bots without annoying real users

Four options to balance security and UX: Math CAPTCHA (lightweight), reCAPTCHA v2 (classic checkbox), reCAPTCHA v3 (invisible scoring) and reCAPTCHA Enterprise for high-traffic sites. Enable on login, registration, lost password and WooCommerce forms.

F04
Free

IP Blacklist
& Whitelist

Total control over who reaches your admin

Blacklist single IPs or entire ranges that you never want near your login page. Whitelist the opposite: only trusted IPs access the admin area. Block by User Agent, Referrer or Hostname, with auto-block for repeat offenders.

F05
Free

Limit Login
Failed Attempts

No more infinite password guessing

WordPress lets users try infinite passwords by default – a gift for brute force scripts. Set a maximum number of failed attempts, after which the user (and their IP) is locked out for a duration you choose. Customize the lockout message too.

F06
Free

Hide Author ID
& Custom Author Path

Block user enumeration attacks

By default, /?author=1 redirects to /author/admin-username/ – exposing your real WordPress username. With that username, an attacker only needs to brute force the password. Hide My WP Ghost disables Author ID lookup and lets you change /author/ to any custom path.

All these features are free.

Install once. Protect forever. No signup required.

F07
Free

Change wp-content,
wp-includes & Uploads

Erase the heaviest WordPress fingerprints

/wp-content/, /wp-includes/ and /wp-content/uploads/ are the three most fingerprint-heavy folders. Renaming them (without physically moving files) removes the easiest WordPress signals from your source code. Vulnerable plugin scanners can no longer auto-detect.

F08
Free

Custom Plugins
& Themes Paths

Vulnerable plugins are the #1 hack reason

If a hacker scans your site and sees /wp-content/plugins/some-vulnerable-plugin/, they know exactly which exploit to run. Hide My WP Ghost changes the plugins/themes paths and gives each plugin and theme a random custom name in your source code.

F09
Free

Hide REST API
& Disable XML-RPC

Close two of WordPress’s biggest entry points

The REST API at /wp-json/ exposes user accounts, posts and metadata. XML-RPC lets attackers test hundreds of passwords per single request – a perfect amplifier for brute force. Hide My WP Ghost rewrites /wp-json to a custom path and disables XML-RPC cleanly.

F10
Free

7G & 8G
Firewall

Enterprise-grade protection at server level

XSS and SQL Injection attacks work on any website, WordPress or not. The 7G and 8G Firewall layers add hundreds of pre-tested rules to your .htaccess or NGINX config that block these queries before they ever reach PHP. Zero performance overhead.

F11
Free

Hide RSD, Generator Meta
& DNS Prefetch

Make WordPress invisible to theme detectors

Three small headers in every WordPress page that scream “I’m WordPress” to theme detectors: the RSD link, the Generator meta tag with the WP version, and the DNS Prefetch for s.w.org. Hide My WP Ghost removes them all – theme detector services return “Not Detected”.

F11
PRO

User Events Log
& Email Alerts

Know what happens on your site, in real time

Records logins (success/fail with IP), posts created/deleted, plugins activated, role changes and settings modifications. Filter by user role, set up email alerts for suspicious actions. Cloud storage with 30-day retention and CSV export available in Pro.

F13
Free

Website Security Check

35+ automated tests with one-click fixes

Scans your WordPress install for known weaknesses: default wp_ prefix, weak admin usernames, outdated SALT keys, wrong file permissions, plugin editor enabled, vulnerable plugins detected, debug mode in production. Get a Security Optimization Score from 0–100.

F14
Free

2FA, Passkey & Magic Link Login

Stop attackers even if they steal a password

2FA by Authenticator code (Google Authenticator, Authy, 1Password), 2FA by email, Passkey with Face ID / Touch ID / Windows Hello (passwordless), Magic Link for passwordless email login, and Trust current browser to skip 2FA on devices you own.

F15
PRO

Temporary Logins

No more sharing admin passwords

Need to give a developer, designer or support agent access for 24 hours without sharing your password? Create a time-limited, loginless URL with a specific user role. The link expires automatically. Perfect for agencies and freelancers.

F16
PRO

Geo Security & Country Blocking

Block traffic from high-risk regions

If your site only serves European customers, why allow login attempts from countries that send 90% of attack traffic? Country Blocking lets you allow or block traffic from any country. Apply rules per path – for example, block country X from /wp-admin only.

F17
Free

URL & Text Mapping

Make WordPress completely indistinguishable

Even after changing all paths, your source code may still contain telltale class names like wp-block-, wp-post-, wp-smiley, or Elementor-specific classes. Text Mapping renames these everywhere – including inside cached CSS and JS files.

F18
FREE

Backup & Restore Settings

Save your config. Clone across sites.

Save all your custom paths and settings as an encrypted backup file. Useful when reinstalling the plugin, migrating servers, setting up multiple sites with the same configuration (agencies), or sharing a tested config across a portfolio.

Ready to ghost your WordPress?

30-day money-back guarantee. Setup in 5 minutes.

 [ 03] Free vs Premium

Start free. Upgrade when you scale

The Free version of Hide My WP Ghost (over 100,000 active installs on WordPress.org) gives you all the essentials. Premium unlocks the advanced layer for growing sites and agencies.

Is the Free version enough?

For personal blogs and small business sites, yes. Over 100,000 active installs on WordPress.org rely only on the free version. You’ll likely want to upgrade to Pro when you start managing multiple client sites, run a WooCommerce store with revenue at stake, or need compliance-grade audit logs. You can start with the free version, then upgrade once you understand which features you actually use.

Free Version

Premium

 [ 04 ] Who it’s for

Who Hide My WP Ghost is built for

From personal blogs to agency portfolios – find the security setup that fits your role.

Blogger & personal site

Free forever. No subscription. Install, pick a preset, done.

Small business

One plugin. No dedicated security team required.

WooCommerce store

Revenue at stake. You need prevention – not incident response.

Freelancer

Protect client sites as part of your standard setup. Add visible value without added complexity.

Developer & agency

Multiple client sites. Consistent security. Audit trail you can show clients.

 [ 05 ] Compatibility

Works with what you already have

Tested with 1,000+ themes and plugins. Hide My WP Ghost operates at the server rewrite level; it doesn’t interfere with caching, CDN, or page builder logic.

 

 [ 06] FAQs

Technical questions about Hide My WP Ghost

Quick answers to the most common questions before you install. For pricing, licensing and refund questions, see the pricing FAQ.

Will Hide My WP Ghost slow down my WordPress site?

No. Hide My WP Ghost has an average load impact of 0.03 seconds – measured across 250,000+ active installations on hosts ranging from shared hosting to enterprise WordPress platforms. The plugin operates at the server rewrite level (.htaccess on Apache/LiteSpeed, NGINX rules), not as runtime PHP processing, which means most of its work happens before WordPress even loads. The 7G/8G Firewall layers add protection at the same server level – zero performance overhead in real-world tests. Sites that were already slow stay slow; sites that were fast stay fast.

No, when configured correctly. Hide My WP Ghost is tested against 1,000+ themes and plugins, including WooCommerce, Elementor, Divi, WPML, Squirrly SEO, Rank Math, and all major page builders. The plugin includes a Safe Mode that activates changes gradually so you can verify each step, and every change is fully reversible from the dashboard. If you do encounter a conflict (rare, usually with poorly-coded custom plugins), you can disable WP Ghost from the WordPress dashboard or from wp-config.php if you’ve locked yourself out – full guide included.

Yes, and many users run both. Hide My WP Ghost focuses on a layer most security plugins don’t touch: removing the WordPress fingerprint itself — hiding wp-admin, wp-login, plugin and theme paths, REST API endpoints, and version metadata so automated scanners can’t identify your stack in the first place. Wordfence and Sucuri focus on traffic filtering, malware scanning, and incident response. The two approaches stack cleanly: HMWG reduces what bots can see, Wordfence/Sucuri filter and clean what still gets through. Common stacks we see in production:

  • Hide My WP Ghost (prevention) + Wordfence Free (malware scan) – most popular combo
  • Hide My WP Ghost (prevention) + Sucuri SiteCheck (external monitoring) – agency setup
  • Hide My WP Ghost alone – when you don’t want post-breach scanning overhead

The only feature you should disable in your scanner if it overlaps is brute force protection (Hide My WP Ghost handles it more efficiently at server level). Everything else stays active.

No. Zero core file modifications. Hide My WP Ghost works exclusively by adding rewrite rules to your server configuration (.htaccess for Apache/LiteSpeed, conf files for NGINX, web.config for IIS) and by filtering output through WordPress hooks. The original /wp-admin/, /wp-login.php, /wp-content/, /wp-includes/ and all other WordPress files stay exactly where WordPress put them — you simply access them through different URLs. This means three things matter for you:

  1. WordPress updates work normally – every release, every time
  2. Plugin and theme updates work normally – no broken references
  3. Deactivating Hide My WP Ghost reverts everything instantly – no cleanup needed

If a plugin tells you “this will modify your core files” – that’s a different plugin, with different risks. Hide My WP Ghost doesn’t.

All changes are 100% reversible, anytime, with no cleanup required. When you deactivate Hide My WP Ghost:

  • Custom URLs (e.g., /my-secret-login) stop working – WordPress reverts to default /wp-admin and /wp-login.php
  • Renamed plugin/theme paths revert to their original values in the source code
  • Firewall rules added to .htaccess or NGINX config are removed automatically
  • Activity logs are preserved (you can re-enable later or export to CSV)

If you completely uninstall the plugin, the only residue is the encrypted settings backup (you can choose to delete it or keep it for future reinstalls). No orphan database tables, no commented-out code in .htaccess, no broken links. You can install today, test for 30 days, and uninstall on day 31 with zero traces, exactly the same site you started with.

No. Average setup time is under 5 minutes, with three configuration presets that handle 90% of use cases:

  • Lite preset – basic protection, recommended for personal blogs
  • Default preset – balanced security, recommended for most sites
  • Ghost Mode preset – maximum security, recommended for WooCommerce and high-traffic sites (Pro)

Each preset is one-click activation. You can also customize every setting individually if needed, but it’s not required. The only manual step is choosing your custom login URL, pick something memorable but not obvious (avoid /admin, /login, /secret). The plugin walks you through it on first activation.

Yes, fully. Hide My WP Ghost is tested with the most common caching and CDN setups:

  • Caching plugins: WP Rocket, LiteSpeed Cache, W3 Total Cache, WP Super Cache, SG Optimizer, Nitropack – all work without configuration changes
  • CDN: Cloudflare (including the Free plan), BunnyCDN, KeyCDN, Stackpath, plus all hosting-bundled CDNs (SiteGround, WP Engine, Kinsta)
  • WordPress Multisite: sub-directory and sub-domain installations are both supported. One license covers the entire network, regardless of how many subsites it contains.

If you use a custom server setup (e.g., Varnish in front of NGINX), Hide My WP Ghost provides config snippets in the documentation. Worst case: priority email support helps with custom configurations on Pro plans.

The core difference is prevention vs. detection:

  • Wordfence, Sucuri, Solid Security scan your site for malware after it’s already been breached. They’re excellent at finding known threats post-attack.
  • Hide My WP Ghost prevents bots from identifying your site as WordPress in the first place, so 90% of automated attacks never start. We hide signals; they detect breaches.

For most sites, the right answer is to combine the two: Hide My WP Ghost for prevention + your scanner of choice for detection. Three concrete differences if you’re comparing directly:

  1. Average load impact: Hide My WP Ghost 0.03s vs. Wordfence ~0.4s, Sucuri ~0.2s (your numbers may vary)
  2. Pricing: Hide My WP Ghost from $29.99/yr for 1 site vs. Wordfence Premium $119/yr, Sucuri from $199.99/yr
  3. Approach: Hide My WP Ghost hides WordPress fingerprints (paths, files, headers, source code), most other plugins don’t touch this layer at all