Contra Costa Community College District 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app
By the Novaz team · Updated October 29, 2026
Novaz steps checked against version 1.0.5
On this page
The Contra Costa Community College District (4CD) runs the shared sign-in for Contra Costa College, Diablo Valley College and Los Medanos College. Your district username and password open InSite and other district systems through a PortalGuard sign-in page at pg.4cd.edu (4CD).
Systems the district protects with multi-factor authentication (MFA) ask for a one-time passcode, which you can get from an authenticator app, by text message, or at a personal email address. The district recommends setting up at least two of them, because the sign-in screen lets you switch between them (4CD). One catch: text messages are the default, so adding an app isn't enough on its own. You also have to make it your default method, as shown below.
4CD's pages name only Google Authenticator. This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, and other authenticator apps scan the same QR code.
How we checked this guide: the 4CD steps come from the district IT department's public documentation site (hosted on Atlassian Confluence at 4cd-doit.atlassian.net) and an InSite sign-in guide on 4cd.edu, linked below, which we read on October 24, 2026. Several steps on those pages point at screenshots, so we followed the written text. We haven't tested them on a 4CD account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.
Add the authenticator app
The district's MFA page describes this (4CD):
- Go to pg.4cd.edu in a web browser and sign in if it asks.
- Click Mobile Authenticator, then Enable mobile Authenticator.
- In Phone Type, pick your kind of phone from the list, then click Continue.
- PortalGuard shows a QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at the screen. If the QR code is on the same iPhone, take a screenshot and use Choose a photo instead. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
- The district's page says the new entry shows up as 4CD MFA in Google Authenticator. Look for a similar name in Novaz.
- Type the 6-digit code from Novaz into the One Time Passcode field, with no spaces, and click Continue.
The district's page doesn't mention a text key you can type instead of scanning, so plan on scanning the QR code.
Codes change every 40 seconds, not 30. That's what the district's page says. Scanning the QR code passes that timing to Novaz. Afterward, tap the account in Novaz and check Interval under Details.
To get codes on more than one device, scan the QR code on each of them before you type the code (4CD).
Make the app your default
PortalGuard sends a text message by default, even after you add an app. To change that (4CD):
- Sign in at pg.4cd.edu.
- Click Multi-Factor Authentication.
- Click Change next to website login.
- Choose mobile Authenticator from the list.
Another page on the district's site calls the section Multi-Factor Delivery Methods instead, and the older InSite guide shows OTP Delivery Methods (4CD, 4CD).
Signing in afterward
At the passcode prompt, type the current code from Novaz. To use a text or email code instead, click the link under the passcode box. 4CD's pages spell it Problem with the One-Time Password (OTP)? or Problems with the One-Time Password(OTP)?, depending on the page.
No backup codes, so set up a second method
The district's pages don't mention backup or recovery codes. Your fallback is a second passcode method:
- Text message: under Registered Phone at pg.4cd.edu, make sure your mobile number is right. The district asks you to keep it there even if you never use text codes, because it's also used for emergency alerts (4CD).
- Personal email: at pg.4cd.edu, click Registered Email Address, then Add my email, enter a personal address (your college address isn't allowed), and confirm with the code sent to it (4CD). You need the app or text method working before you can add or change this address.
This matters more if you don't keep a Novaz backup, since its keys then exist only on one iPhone. See authenticator app vs. SMS for the trade-offs.
If 4CD rejects your code
Type all six digits with no spaces, as the district's page asks. Then check your iPhone's clock: Settings > General > Date & Time > Set Automatically. Novaz warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off. With 40-second codes, a code that's about to change may expire before you finish typing, so wait for a fresh one. More causes are in Authenticator code not working?
Changing phones or losing your phone
4CD's pages don't explain how to move the authenticator to a new phone or remove it. In Novaz, iCloud backup or a backup file restores your accounts on a new iPhone, so the codes keep working. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.
If your phone is lost, choose a text or email code at the sign-in prompt instead. If none of your methods work, contact an IT help desk (4CD):
- District Office: 925-229-6888 or help.4cd.edu
- Contra Costa College: 510-215-3888 or techs@contracosta.edu
- Diablo Valley College: 925-969-2576 or help.4cd.edu
- Los Medanos College: 925-473-7767 or help.4cd.edu
The district's pages don't say what proof the help desk asks for or how long a reset takes. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?
