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2 Step Authentication Help

  • 1 reply
  • 1 has this problem
  • 24 views
  • Last reply by cor-el

silvanet
silvanet
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I have Firefox as my default browser in my Windows 10 Pro PC. I have a Firefox account and have saved bookmarks I want to be able to access from my Mac on Firefox, but I can't.

When I try to log in and sync I tried logging in on the Mac with my account credentials from the Windows PC (my username and password from there). I don't have 2 Factor Authorization turned on in the Windows Firefox installation. However, the login attempt on the Mac immediately asks me to enter a security code without telling me where in the world I would get that.

It does say to open my authentication app and enter the security code it provides. I had no such thing. After some searching, I figured I had to install an extension. I installed authenticator by Mymindstorm.

I tried following the instructions but there was no QR code to scan and I had no idea from where the code requested would come. It appeared I had to add a Certificate Authority Secret Key but again I couldn't figure out from where and all documentation and instructions were useless and uninformative to me.

I resolved to turn off 2FA if it somehow were automatically installed in the Mac instance of Firefox. I again couldn't figure out where you do that. I saw instructions but found nowhere in my Settings anything about that.

I'm baffled. Isn't there some easy way to do this? My Chrome settings and bookmarks are accessible no matter from where I install and use it. I have Chrome on my Windows PC and I can also access all my bookmarks from opening up Chrome on my Mac. Why is this so difficult? Can anyone give me the simple solution that actually works?

Even on my Windows PC where I am logged in to my Firefox account and I have my bookmarks that I want to access on my Mac Firefox, when I open the Authenticator extension it says no accounts to display. I follow the link to "add your first account." The instructions are mind-boggling. There is no QR code to scan. I go the to Mac and sync to log in. It asks for the code, but there is no code either to scan or to install manually. The instructions to add the code manually are even worse -- that CA creation thing referring to a Secret Key somewhere supposedly being provided to me. WTF?

I'd just shut it off completely if I could.

I have Firefox as my default browser in my Windows 10 Pro PC. I have a Firefox account and have saved bookmarks I want to be able to access from my Mac on Firefox, but I can't. When I try to log in and sync I tried logging in on the Mac with my account credentials from the Windows PC (my username and password from there). I don't have 2 Factor Authorization turned on in the Windows Firefox installation. However, the login attempt on the Mac immediately asks me to enter a security code without telling me where in the world I would get that. It does say to open my authentication app and enter the security code it provides. I had no such thing. After some searching, I figured I had to install an extension. I installed authenticator by Mymindstorm. I tried following the instructions but there was no QR code to scan and I had no idea from where the code requested would come. It appeared I had to add a Certificate Authority Secret Key but again I couldn't figure out from where and all documentation and instructions were useless and uninformative to me. I resolved to turn off 2FA if it somehow were automatically installed in the Mac instance of Firefox. I again couldn't figure out where you do that. I saw instructions but found nowhere in my Settings anything about that. I'm baffled. Isn't there some easy way to do this? My Chrome settings and bookmarks are accessible no matter from where I install and use it. I have Chrome on my Windows PC and I can also access all my bookmarks from opening up Chrome on my Mac. Why is this so difficult? Can anyone give me the simple solution that actually works? Even on my Windows PC where I am logged in to my Firefox account and I have my bookmarks that I want to access on my Mac Firefox, when I open the Authenticator extension it says no accounts to display. I follow the link to "add your first account." The instructions are mind-boggling. There is no QR code to scan. I go the to Mac and sync to log in. It asks for the code, but there is no code either to scan or to install manually. The instructions to add the code manually are even worse -- that CA creation thing referring to a Secret Key somewhere supposedly being provided to me. WTF? I'd just shut it off completely if I could.

Modified by silvanet

All Replies (1)

cor-el
cor-el
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  • Top 10 Contributor
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Can you attach a screenshot?

Isn't this a Mac OS prompt that Firefox might show if you do not use a Primary Password ?

Using Sync is a possible reason to ask for the Primary Password at startup. This is because the credentials to login to the Sync account are stored in the Password Manager and you need to enter the Primary Password to unlock the passwords and connect/login to the Sync account.