2-factor authentication is the process in which an additional piece of information is requested and required, along with your username and password, to sign in to your account.

In this article, we review how to enable 2-factor authentication with Google Authenticator. However, eFront supports two more methods of 2-factor authentication: email and SMS-based authentication. These are not mutually exclusive. They can run side, by side and if all three services are activated by the administrator, the end user will be able to select their preferred one.

To use Google Authenticator, download the app on your smartphone or tablet device. 

To set up Google Authenticator:

1. Sign in to your portal as an administrator.
2. Go to System settings (1) > Security (2) > 2-factor authentication (3).
3. Set Using a QR code service to Google Authenticator (4).
4. Click Save (5) to confirm your changes.

Once enabled, users can visit their profile page to activate 2-factor authentication. To do this, they should:

1. Expand the right drop-down menu (1) and select My account (2).
2. Select Profile (3) and click the Enable 2-factor authentication link (4).
3. In the new window, the user needs to set the Authentication type to Google Authenticator (5).
4. Scan the QR code (6) using Google authenticator app on their smartphone or tablet device, and add the provided code (7). 
5. Click Activate (8) when they're done.

The next time the user tries to sign in, they will be presented with an additional field to input the 6-digit code displayed on their smartphone or tablet device.