Knowledgebase

Overview

Two-factor authentication (2FA) is a security measure that requires two forms of identification. After you enter your password, you must enter a security code. An application on your smartphone supplies this code. Without your smartphone, you cannot log in.

To use this feature, your hosting provider must enable it for you. Ask them to perform the following steps in WHM:

1. Set the Two-Factor Authentication Security Policy toggle to On in WHM’s Two-Factor Authentication interface (WHM >> Home >> Security Center >> Two-Factor Authentication).
2. Grant the Two-Factor Authentication (Google Authenticator) feature to the desired users in WHM’s Feature Manager interface (WHM >> Home >>Packages >> Feature Manager).

Configure 2FA

To configure 2FA, perform the following steps:

1. Click Set Up Two-Factor Authentication.
2. Link your cPanel account and your 2FA app:
   • To automatically create the link, scan the displayed QR code with your app.
   • To manually create the link, enter the provided Account and Key information in your app.
3. Within your 2FA app, retrieve the six-digit security code
   Note:

   The 2FA app generates a new six-digit security code every 30 seconds.

4. Enter the six-digit security code in the Security Code text box.
   Note:

   You must enter the security code within 30 seconds. After time expires, the app will generate a new six-digit code.

5. Click Configure Two-Factor Authentication.
   Note:

   If you see a Failed to set user configuration: The security code is invalid. error, a problem may exist with the date and time settings on your server. To fix the issue, contact your hosting provider.

Remove 2FA

To remove 2FA, click Remove Two-Factor Authentication.

Reconfigure 2FA

To reconfigure 2FA, click Reconfigure. Follow the steps above to configure two-factor authentication.

This article is copied from the original source at cPanel documentation here.

Last modified: May 13, 2020