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A convenient way of managing and using multiple 2FA/MFA accounts is by means of the Authenticator extension. This extension can be installed for several popular internet browsers, like Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and others. The extensions are platform-independent, so will work on e.g. Windows, Linux, and MacOS. The usage of the extension is the same for all browsers and platforms. Below are instructions on how to install the extension in Firefox on Windows, and how to add your 2FA/MFA code generators for Leiden Observatory and Leiden University logins. Installation for other browsers and/or on other platforms is very similar.

Open the Firefox browser. In the top-right corner click the button with 3 horizontal lines (3 dots in Chrome and Edge) and from the pull-down menu select Add-ons and Themes (Extensions in Edge, More Tools→Extensions in Chrome). In the search box enter Authenticator and hit enter. One of the first results that pops up is the Authenticator extension by author mymindstorm. After installing this extension, a new button carrying the logo will have appeared in the top-right corner. Clicking on this button gives access to the 2FA/MFA code generators that are to be added.

Figure 1: Authenticator extension (Click image to enlarge).

When 2FA at Leiden Observatory is set up, an email is sent to the user on their private email address containing the 2FA setup information as well as an attached QR-code (png image) with the same setup information. This email can be resent by visiting the Intranet Self-service or by contacting the helpdesk.

The easiest way to add the 2FA code generator to the Authenticator extension is by scanning the QR-code. This needs to be done within a web browser window; either open the attached QR-code via a webmail interface, or save the attachment to disk and then open the attachment file inside Firefox (keyboard shortcut CTRL-O or via menu File→Open File…).

Figure 2: Leiden Observatory 2FA QR-code (Click image to enlarge).

Once the QR-code is visible within the browser window, click on the top-right Authenticator button to open the pull-down window, then click the Scan QR-code button (little square with a horizontal line in it). Probably the extension needs to be allowed some permissions for this to work (only once). The browser will present a crosshair as mouse-pointer, as well as an example QR-code that is being scanned. Move the crosshair to the top-left of the true QR-code, hold down the left mouse button and drag toward the bottom-right, drawing a (dotted-line) box around the QR-code. Make sure to enclose the full QR-code while staying within the white boundary surrounding it. If done correctly, a message box will appear stating that <username> has been added. If a message box with Unrecognized QR-code appears, please try the scan again. After a successful scan, the Authenticator pull-down window will contain a box with the Leiden Observatory code generator linked to your account. Clicking on the box will copy the current code to the clipboard (Copied appears), which can then be pasted into any login window asking for the Leiden Observatory 2FA/OATH/One-time (pass-)code.

Figure 3: Leiden Observatory 2FA code generator (Click image to enlarge).

Now that the extension has been installed on your browser, you can also add the Leiden University MFA to generate codes to access pages from the university. To set this up, visit the account services page of the university. Log in with your ULCN username and password.

Figure 4: Account services login page (Click image to enlarge).

On the Account Services page, scroll down and click on Multi-Factor Authentication.

Figure 5: Select option Multi-Factor Authentication (Click image to enlarge).

You will need to login again and reach a page to setup additional authentication. To add the 2FA code generator to the browser extension, select the option TOTP Non-NetIQ Authenticator. Note that the following steps will invalidate any older apps you use to generate the 6-digit code, for example on your phone.

Figure 6: Select option Multi-Factor Authentication (Click image to enlarge).

Follow the steps. The first step is the installation of non-NetIQ app. In this case it is the browser extension that you already have installed, so you can click Next. In step 2 a QR code will appear. Similar to the Leiden Observatory QR code, this QR code has to be scanned by your browser extension. Click on the top-right Authenticator button to open the pull-down window, then click the Scan QR-code button (little square with a horizontal line in it).

Figure 7: Select option Multi-Factor Authentication (Click image to enlarge).

The browser will present a crosshair as mouse-pointer, as well as an example QR-code that is being scanned. Move the crosshair to the top-left of the true QR-code, hold down the left mouse button and drag toward the bottom-right, drawing a (dotted-line) box around the QR-code. Make sure to enclose the full QR-code while staying within the white boundary surrounding it. If done correctly, a message box will appear stating that <username> has been added. If a message box with Unrecognized QR-code appears, please try the scan again. After a successful scan, the Authenticator pull-down window will contain a box with the Leiden University code generator linked to your account. Important: if you also want to have the option to use your phone to authenticate, also scan this QR code with the OTP app on your phone before pressing Next.

After scanning the QR code with your browser and your phone, you can press Next and finish the setup. When you click on the browser extension, you will see both the 6-digit code for the Observatory and for the University pages. Clicking on the number will copy the code to your clipboard.