Card-less Authentication for PaperCut MF

The majority of PaperCut MF users opt for using card swipe as the primary mechanism to log into a device. For customers that do not wish to use cards, two alternative login mechanisms are provided:

1. Username and password
2. ID number and PIN

Login by username and password needs no explanation. But why do we also offer login by ID number and PIN?

Why ID and PIN?

The reason for the ID number and PIN method is that it can be slow and awkward for users to type their username and password using the software keyboard at the device. Most devices have a numeric keypad well suited to typing an ID number. However, as ID numbers may be easy to guess or known by others, PaperCut MF can require the user to type a private PIN as well.

The ID number is usually a fixed number permanently assigned to a user and is often sourced from Active Directory. By contrast, the PIN number should be known only to the user. PaperCut MF can allow the user to change their PIN at any time from the user web portal (http://[papercut-server]:9191/user).

Prompting for a PIN

If a user’s PIN is blank, PaperCut MF will, by default, prompt the user to enter a PIN the first time they log in at a device.

You may wish to disable this feature if you believe there is a significant risk that users will try to guess other people’s ID numbers to gain free access.

To disable new PIN entry at the device, login to the PaperCut MF admin pages and from the Options tab, open the the Config editor. Set the key: ext-device.allow-new-pin-for-id-num to N. With this setting, new users will need to set their PIN from the user web portal prior to logging in to a device.

Please note that if authentication by swipe card is used and the PIN field in the database is empty then the user will always be prompted for a new PIN, no matter what setting of ext-device.allow-new-pin-for-id-num.