By broadcasting a login request over Bluetooth, the Authomate Proximity feature allows you to log in without scanning a QR code. When StrongPass Components are installed on your Mac or Windows computer, your StrongPass App can use Proximity to log into websites, to unlock your computer, and to log into applications running on your computer.


The Proximity feature can only be used if the following prerequisites are met:

  1. The StrongPass Components are installed on your computer
  2. Your phone supports Bluetooth 4.0 also known as Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)
  3. Bluetooth 4.0 is supported on your Mac or Windows computer
  4. Your Windows computer is Windows 10 version 1809 or later 
  5. Your Mac computer is Mac OS X 10.12 or later 
  6. Bluetooth is enabled on your phone and on your computer 
  7. The StrongPass App has been granted the appropriate permissions (iOS requires Bluetooth and Android requires Location permissions)
  8. Proximity is enabled on your StrongPass App under Settings/Proximity Settings


In order to secure the Bluetooth broadcasts, you need to pair your StrongPass App with the StrongPass components on your computer. The pairing is accomplished by scanning a QR code and acknowledging the pairing request on the App and sometimes with the StrongPass Component. Your phone can be paired with multiple StrongPass components, and each StrongPass component can be paired with multiple phones. Each device maintains a list of other devices it is paired with.


When you install the StrongPass components, your App will be paired with AppConnect and any browser extensions that you select to install. Mac Logon and PC Logon for Windows will be paired the first time you use them. If you decline the pairing request on the App, that StrongPass component will be listed as blocked in the Trusted Devices list on the App. If a StrongPass component prompts to acknowledge a pairing request and you decline, your account will be added to the blocked list for that component. You will not be asked to pair again unless you delete your entry in the blocked list on your App and on the StrongPass component, or unless software such as the App, browser, or StrongPass components are re-installed.


Browser extensions and AppConnect share a common list of paired and blocked user accounts. StrongPass Mac Logon and StrongPass PC Logon for Windows maintain their own separate lists of paired and blocked accounts. 


Proximity Pairing with a Browser Extension


Here is an example of pairing the StrongPass App with a Chrome browser by visiting the amazon.com website.

To get started, open the Chrome browser on your computer and navigate to the amazon.com login page. Once the login page is loaded in the browser, you will see the Authomate icon appear on the Chrome toolbar. 


1)  To pair your phone, click on the Authomate icon.


2) When the browser shows the QR code, unlock the StrongPass App on your phone with your passcode, then press the “Scan Now” button on the App to scan the QR code. 


3) The App will prompt you to enable this browser to be used for Proximity login. This browser will be added to the Trusted Devices list on your phone with a status of “Trusted” if you select “Yes” or “Blocked” if you select “No”. Browsers that are listed as “Trusted” will use Proximity the next time you log into a web site. If they are listed as “Blocked”, Proximity will not be used and you will need to click on the Authomate icon and scan the QR code to log into a web site.

4) After you click "Yes" on the App, the Browser Extension will prompt you for confirmation of this pairing. If you select "Yes" the Phone/Account will be added to an allowed list. If you select "No", the Phone/Account will be added to the blocked list.

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Proximity Login


Once your App is paired with the browser, Proximity will start automatically whenever you visit a website login page, without having to click on the Authomate icon.  Open the StrongPass App on your phone and you will see a prompt asking you to confirm the account credentials that have been selected by the App. Just click "Yes" to log in.

If your StrongPass App is not currently open, and you have enabled notifications, you will see a notification when your phone receives a Proximity request. On iOS, click on the notification to open your StrongPass App. On Android, swipe down from the top of the screen to see the notification, then click on it to open your StrongPass App.
iOS Notification
Android
Notification



Proximity FAQs


What do the different Authomate icons mean in the toolbar?

The Authomate icon displayed in the toolbar changes depending on what the extension is doing:

A login page is displayed and Proximity is not Enabled

A login page is displayed and Proximity is Enabled but not broadcasting

A login page is displayed and Proximity is Enabled and broadcasting

A change password page is displayed and Proximity is Enabled and broadcasting

A login page is not displayed and Extension is disabled


What is Automatic Proximity?

Automatic Proximity makes StrongPass easier to use by automatically starting the login process whenever you visit a website login page without having to click on the Authomate icon in the browser toolbar. To complete the login process, simply open your StrongPass App. This feature is available on Chrome, Edge, and Firefox.


How do I enable/disable Automatic Proximity?

Go to any website login page and click on the Authomate icon.  Click on the settings gear at the bottom
of the pop-up window and select Automatic Proximity Enabled or Disabled.  Enabled is the default setting.


What is Auto Submit?

Auto Submit makes StrongPass easier to use by automatically clicking the Log In / Sign In button on the website login page after it populates the login and password fields. Each website login page is unique, so this may not work on every website. This feature is available on Chrome, Edge, and Firefox.


How do I enable/disable Auto Submit?

Go to any website login page and click on the Authomate icon.  Click on the settings gear at the bottom of the pop-up window and select Auto Submit Enabled or Disabled.  Enabled is the default setting.

 

What are the Allowed and Blocked Lists?

The Allowed List shows the StrongPass App device accounts that are paired with this component and allowed to perform Proximity. Only users that are in the allowed list can access the information in the Bluetooth broadcast. Device accounts that are in the Blocked List are not allowed to use Proximity with this component. Your account gets added to the Blocked List if you answer NO during the pairing process. If you are not interested in using Proximity, answer NO during the pairing process so that you will not be asked if you want to pair your device every time a login request is processed. If you change your mind and want to use Proximity with a device account in the blocked list, simply delete it from the list and you will be prompted to pair the next time you log in. 


For information on managing the Allowed and Blocked Lists for AppConnect for Windows, click here.

For information on managing the Allowed and Blocked Lists for PC Logon for Windows, click here.

Mac Logon allows multiple phones to be paired with the computer, but currently does not have an interface for managing this list. AppConnect for Mac shares common Allowed and Blocked Lists with the browser extensions, so you can manage the lists through the browser extension interface described below.


To manage the Allowed and Blocked Lists for browser extensions, go to any web page where the Authomate icon is enabled, click the Authomate icon and click the settings gear on the lower right hand corner of the popup as show below.


Why doesn’t Proximity work after I log out of a site and want to log back in?

The extension will not automatically start a Proximity login until you navigate to a different website. Hence, if you log out of a site, and want to log back into the same site, you will have to click on the extension icon. This prevents the Automatic Proximity feature from automatically logging you back into the website if the log out process returns you to the website login page. The Proximity is Enabled but not broadcasting icon will be displayed.


Why doesn’t Proximity work on Android if I am not on the Main screen?

On Android, the StrongPass App only scans for Proximity messages while you are on the Main screen. This helps conserve battery life by disabling Bluetooth monitoring whenever StrongPass is in the background or while you are performing other tasks such as editing accounts.


Every time I use Proximity, I get a dialog box asking for confirmation. Can I turn this off?

You can configure the StrongPass App to log in with no user interaction required as soon as it receives a Bluetooth request, or you can require a user confirmation screen before logging in.  If more than one account matches a login request, the App will display a list of accounts to allow you to select which one to use. The Proximity login confirmation on the App is enabled/disabled with the Verify Proximity Login? option under Settings/Proximity Settings. When the Authomate extension broadcasts a session to the StrongPass App, if there is an unlocked and paired App within range, it will either:
  • Ask you whether or not you want to log in (if Verify Proximity Login is set to YES) or
  • Automatically log you in (if Verify Proximity Login is set to NO)


How do I enable/disable the Proximity feature?

The Proximity feature on the App can be disabled under Settings/Proximity Settings by selecting NO for Enable Proximity? When this is disabled you must scan the QR code to log in to a website.

What are trusted devices?

The Trusted Devices list includes entries for all the StrongPass components you have paired with your App.  Devices that are listed as “Trusted” will use Proximity to log in. Those listed as “Blocked” will not use Proximity,  and you will need to scan the Authomate QR code to log in. You can tap on an entry in the list to toggle its status between Trusted and Blocked. To delete an entry, swipe left on iOS, or long click on Android to display the delete option.

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