How To: Add Duo to a Smartphone
In order to access our software, all users are required to use two factor authentication in order to keep both the user account and the server environment as secure as possible. This article will detail the process of adding duo to a user account and how to approve or deny login attempts.
Downloading Duo onto a smartphone
The first step is to download the duo app onto your smartphone. This is done like any standard app on your mobile device, and is accessible on both the android and apple app stores. Simply search up Duo and you’ll see the option for “Duo Mobile” with the green square icon as shown below.
Open up the duo app and select “Get started”. This will give you the below prompt to sign into an existing account, or add an account by scanning a QR code, you’ll select the QR code option. You’ll then stop at this point and go through the below steps to get the email from Carvin Software.
You’ll need the “Duo Security” email from Carvin Software to get the email with the QR code. If you don’t have the email, please reach out to our support team. The email needs to be opened up on a computer so you can scan the QR code with your phone.
Getting The Duo Signup Email
To get the duo enrollment email, reach out to the Carvin Software support team and let them know you’re ready for the duo signup. The support team will then turn on duo for your user account which will trigger the email to be sent to the email on file for that specific user. Please note that turning duo on for the user account will prevent them from logging in without duo but is the only way to send the enrollment email, so you only want to request the email to be sent when you’re ready to go through the process.
Below are screenshots of the process. Keep in mind that though the screenshots may slightly vary for you, the main choices that you’ll select will remain the same.
Perform the below steps on a computer as you’ll need to use the Duo app to scan the QR Code on your computer screen as the last step.
After clicking the link in the email, you’ll click next until you see the option to install the app. You will NOT install the app but will click “Skip For Now”.
Select Duo Mobile
Enter your phone number and confirm it on the next screen
Use the duo mobile app to scan the QR Code
Linking Duo with Carvin Software
Now that you have the duo app downloaded and have the QR code displayed on your computer screen, open up the duo app and select “Add account by scanning a QR Code”. If your phone asks you may need to grant permission for duo to access your camera. Scan the QR code on the screen and your phone screen will confirm the scan and will display default account information as shown below.
The “Name Account” Step is purely for informational purposes and does NOT have to match your username or be anything specific, and you can rename the account name to anything you like. Since you can use Duo with our software as well as many other two factor authorization websites, we suggest either leaving it as is, or naming it something so you know that this particular entry is used for Carvin Software.
Once you’ve scanned the QR code and named your account, you’ll receive the below message that your account is linked. At this point you’re fully set up, but we suggest you make a couple selections on the following screens to make using the app a little easier.
There’s no need to practice the next step and you can select “Skip for now”. The practice procedure simply has you select approve or deny so you can see what the process looks like.
We STRONGLY suggest enabling notifications, as when you login you’ll receive a small pop up from Duo to approve or deny the login attempt. If you disable notifications, you’ll need to open the duo app every time you login vs simply approving the notification which disappears after approving.
The duo “Improving your experience” screen is purely for the app itself and has nothing to do with the setup of your account. You’re free to either allow Duo to gather information or simply select “Turn Off”
At this point you’ve completed the process. Tap “OK”, close any duo windows that may still be open on your computer, and login on your computer using the usual RDP icon and your username and password as you usually do. The “Passcode” screen that you’re taken to at the end of the setup process isn’t needed for logging in.
Approving and Denying Login Attempts
With duo now up and running for your account, you’ll need to approve or deny every login attempt. The duo prompt is triggered when a user successfully enters their RDP (First Login) username and password, at which point the RDP screen will appear to be “loading” and you’ll receive a duo prompt to approve or deny the login attempt as shown below.
By tapping the notification on your phone you’re then shown the details as far as the name of the account, as well as the time of the login attempt, the city/state, and the account name. Tapping the green check mark will approve the login attempt and the RDP will then finish loading and you’ll be in the server environment as usual. Logging onto the server is the only time you’re prompted to verify logging in, opening the software or logging out don’t trigger any additional prompts.
Tapping Deny or failing to respond within 30 seconds will deny the attempt, and you’ll be given the error message that the login attempt failed on you computer, and on your phone you have the option to mark the login attempt as suspicious or not.
Only mark the login attempt as suspicious when you’re not logging in and suspect a third party is trying to access your account, as this will notify the Carvin Software team of a suspicious login attempt and we’ll reach out to you to gather details on whats occurred. Keep in mind that properly logging out of the server environment when you’re taking a break will prevent your session from timing out, which can sometimes trigger Duo thinking that you’re trying to login and trigger the prompt while you’re away.
Carvin Software LLC