Using Authorized Computer Management (Desktop)

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In an effort to increase security, PensionPro users have the option to authorize specific computers to access PensionPro. This prevents PensionPro from being accessed outside of a firm's list of authorized computers.

 

Tier Availability: Team, Business

Security Rights Required: Authorized Computer Exempt, Maintenance

 

Note: While Authorized Computer settings can be managed via PensionPro 2.0, the Authorized Computer Management functionality is only applicable to the Desktop version of PensionPro.
Note: Some items may not be available in all tiers.

 

Menu:

 

Add the Security Right

Before the Authorized Computer Management feature can be activated, at least one user must be given the security right to be exempt from computer authorization. This user must also have the Maintenance security right. Together these two rights will allow the user to maintain the list of authorized computers and change the computer authorization application preference.

Add the Authorized Computer Exempt Security Right

Security Rights Needed: Add/Edit Employee

  1. From the Company Directory, double-click on the target employee's name.
  2. Click the Add button to the right of the Security Rights grid.
  3. From the Available Rights dropdown, select "Authorized Computer Exempt" and click the Add button to the right of the dropdown menu.
  4. Click Save.
  5. From the Application Menu, click Application > Refresh Security.

 

Adding Authorized Computers

Users must have the Authorized Computer Exempt and Maintenance Security Rights before they can add Authorized Computers. Once the user has those rights, the user may access the Authorized Computers site where they can maintain which computers are authorized.

Security Rights Needed: Authorized Computer Exempt, Maintenance

Adding Individual Authorized Computers

  1. From the Application menu, click Maintenance > Preferences > Authorized Computers.
    • The site will open in the user's default browser.
  2. Click the Add button to the right of the grid to open the Add New Authorized Computer popup window.
  3. Enter the name of the computer in the "Enter a single computer name" text box.
    • Users can enter a description of the computer in the "Enter description" textbox, but it is not required.
  4. Click Save.

Importing Multiple Authorized Computers

  1. From the Application menu, click Maintenance > Preferences > Authorized Computers.
    • The site will open in the user's default browser.
  2. Click the Export button to export a template.
  3. Enter the name(s) and descriptions of any authorized computer(s) in the Computer Name and Description fields respectively.
  4. Save the template.
  5. In the Authorized Computers site, click the Import button to the right of the grid.
    • An Import Authorized Computers popup window will appear.
  6. Click the "Select a spreadsheet" button and locate the import template that was previously saved.
    • Users can click the Override checkbox to replace an existing list the list of authorized machines in the import template.
      • Authorized Computers in the import file that are already included in the grid are ignored upon import and will remain authorized after import.
  7. Click Upload.
    • A confirmation will appear stating how many new computers were added and how many were removed.

Refresh

Users can click the Refresh button located to the right of the Authorized Computers grid to refresh for any recent changes.

Sort

Users can sort by Computer Name or Description field by clicking on the column headers. Users can click on the header to toggle sorting in ascending or descending order and unsorted options.

Filter

Users can click on the filter button located to the right of each column header to filter by Computer Name or Description. Users can select an operator to filter, the value to sort by and click Filter. Users can click Clear to remove the filters.

 

Enable Computer Authorization

Once a user has the Authorized Computer Exempt and Maintenance Security rights, that user may then enable the Authorized Computer Management feature. The Authorized Computers Preference does not display if both rights aren’t enabled. It is important that users establish all applicable authorized computers prior to enabling the Computer Authorization feature.

Enable Computer Authorization

Security Rights: Authorized Computer Exempt, Maintenance

  1. From the Application menu, click Maintenance > Preferences > PensionPro.
  2. On the General subtab, select "Data Security" from the Preference Type dropdown menu.
  3. Click the Edit button to the right of the Data Security grid.
  4. Select "Yes" from the Enable Authorized Computer Management preference dropdown menu.
  5. Click Save.

Rules

If the Computer Authorization preference is enabled and a computer is not in the Authorized Computers grid, users will not be able to access PensionPro with that computer.

If the Computer Authorization preference is enabled and no employee is assigned the "Authorized Computer Exempt" security right, anyone is able to log in.

If the user has the "Authorized Computer Exempt" security right, that user is able to log in without checking the Authorized Computers feature.

If the user is not assigned the "Authorized Computer Exempt" security right, that user is able to log in only if that user's computer name is listed in the Authorized Computers site.

Users accessing PensionPro from unauthorized computers will receive an error message on the PensionPro login page. The error message reads in red text: "Unauthorized device. Access is denied. Please contact your system administrator for assistance."

 

Removing Authorized Computers

While maintaining authorized computers, users may remove or delete authorized computers from the Authorized Computers site.

Remove Authorized Computers

Security Rights: Authorized Computer Exempt, Maintenance

  1. From the Application menu, click Maintenance > Preferences > Authorized Computers.
    • The site will open in the user's default browser.
  2. Place a check in the box located to the left of the Computer Name to select it.
    • Users can toggle the checkbox at the top left of the grid to select all computers at once.
    • The Delete button will activate after a computer is selected.
  3. Click the Delete button to remove the computer from the Authorized Computers list.
  4. A Delete Confirmation popup will appear. Click Confirm to remove the selected computer(s).

 

Frequently Asked Questions

  • How do I find my computer name? Microsoft has a great article on locating this information if you or your IT team needs it. Click here for more information!
  • I'm on a terminal environment, does Authorized Computer Management still work for me? Terminal server users will need to enable their terminal server by name. This allows all users on the server to use PensionPro. Machines can be disabled by their login name.
  • I am a Mac user with Parallels, how can I find my machine name? Mac users with Parallels have Windows OS running inside their Mac OS. The Windows OS has its own name that will need to be enabled.

 

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