Two-factor authentication (2FA) is a quick and easy way to add an extra layer of security to all University of Delaware accounts and to University, personal and financial information.

Effective Monday, March 6, members of the Class of 2017 will be required to use 2FA when they log in to UD services.

Beginning in January, students have been seeing a screen that invites them to sign up for 2FA protection. Seniors who have not yet enrolled in 2FA are urged to sign up at My UD Settings before 2FA becomes mandatory for them on March 6.

Requiring students to use 2FA to protect their accounts and information is being phased in by class year. New students are already required to sign up for 2FA during their enrollment process. The Class of 2017 is next (March 6), then the Class of 2018 (April). The classes of 2019 and 2020 will be required to use 2FA in the fall.

Several applications and services used by students currently require 2FA: e.g., VPN connections from off campus, student refund requests. Certain payroll and HR forms used by students who are also part-time employees will require 2FA on Feb. 22.

After enabling 2FA, members of the University community log in using a temporary security code in addition to their UDelNet usernames and passwords. Protecting an account with 2FA makes it much less likely that a hacker can access a UD account.

2FA is already required for most full-time employees and all graduate students. So far, over 16,500 members of the community are using 2FA to protect their accounts and information.

More information

For more information about 2FA, students can go to the UD IT 2FA help pages or contact the IT Support Center by submitting a Help Request form, emailing consult@udel.edu or calling 302-831-6000.

Note: The Google Authenticator app for smartphones, iPods, and tablets is the suggested method for generating a 2FA code. Once configured properly, Google Authenticator does not require internet access to generate a 2FA code. Because Google Authenticator works without network access, it works well in locations where Wi-Fi or cell phone networks are not available. For more information, review the Google Authenticator 2FA help files.