Using Google Authenticator

This section explains how to configure Google Authenticator.

To configure Google Authenticator:

1. Navigate to Site Settings > Connection > Multi-factor authentication.

2. Double-click the name of the Google Authenticator provider that you want to configure.

3. Click the Edit button.

4. Specify the following:

   • Name: Name of the provider.

   • Description: Description of the provider.

   • In the Themes table select the Themes that will use this MFA provider.

   • Display name: The default name here is "Google Authenticator. The name will appear on the registration dialog in Parallels Client in the following sentence, "Install Google Authenticator app on your iOS or Android device". If you change the name, the sentence will contain the name you specify, such as "Install <new-name> app on your iOS or Android device". Technically, you can use any authenticator app (hence the ability to change the name), but at the time of this writing only the Google Authenticator app is officially supported.

   • User Prompt: Specify the text that the user will see when prompted with an OTP dialog.

   • Modify the default TOTP tolerance if required.

   • The Enrollment section allows you to limit user enrollment via Google Authenticator if needed. You can allow all users to enroll without limitations (the Allow option), allow enrollment until the specified date and time (Allow until), or completely disable enrollment (the Do not allow option). If enrollment is disabled due to expired time frame or because the Do not allow option is selected, a user trying to log in will see an error message saying that enrollment is disabled and advising the user to contact the system administrator. When you restrict or disable enrollment, Google authenticator or other TOTP provider can still be used, but with added security which would not allow further user enrollment. This is a security measure to mitigate users with compromised credentials to enroll in MFA.

   • The Reset User(s) field in the User management section is used to reset the token that a user receives when they log in to Parallels RAS for the first time using Google Authenticator. If you reset a user, they'll have to go through the registration procedure again (see Using Google Authenticator in Parallels Client below). You can search for specific users, reset all users, or import the list of users from a CSV file.

   • Restrictions: See Configure MFA rules.

5. Click Save when done.

Using Google Authenticator in Parallels Client

Important: To use Google Authenticator or other TOTP provider, the time on a user device must be in sync with the time set on the RAS Connection Broker server. Otherwise, Google authentication will fail.

Google Authenticator is supported in Parallels Client running on all supported platforms, including mobile, desktop, and Web Client.

To use Google Authenticator, a user needs to install the Authenticator app on their iOS or Android device. Simply visit Google Play or App Store and install the app. Once the Authenticator app is installed, the user is ready to connect to Parallels RAS using two-factor authentication.

To connect to Parallels RAS:

1. The user opens Parallels Client or User Portal and logs in using his/her credentials.

2. The multi-factor authentication dialog opens displaying a barcode (also known as QR code) and a secret key.

3. The user opens the Google Authenticator app on their mobile device:

   • If this is the first time they use it, they tap Begin and then tap Scan a barcode.

   • If a user already has another account in Google Authenticator, they tap the plus-sign icon and choose Scan a barcode.

4. The user then scans the barcode displayed in the Parallels Client login dialog.

   If scanning doesn't work for any reason, the user goes back in the app, chooses Enter a provided key and then enters the account name and the key displayed in the Parallels Client login dialog.

5. The user then taps Add account in the app, which will create an account and display a one-time password.

6. The user goes back to Parallels Client, clicks Next and enters the one-time password in the OTP field.

On every subsequent logon, the user will only have to type their credentials (or nothing at all if the Save password options was selected) and enter a one-time password obtained from the Google Authenticator app (the app will continually generate a new password). If the RAS administrator resets a user (see the Reset Users(s) field description at the beginning of this section), the user will have to repeat the registration procedure described above.