Use the JumpCloud Menu Bar App

The JumpCloud Menu Bar App lets users log in to their devices using their JumpCloud credentials and access the User Portal without having to re-enter their passwords. The user's JumpCloud IdentityOS® password also provides access to the device, software, Wi-Fi and everything else an IT infrastructure has to offer. The user can also change a JumpCloud IdentityOS password without admin intervention using the Menu Bar App.

This application is different from the JumpCloud Mac agent, which is invisible to the user and helps the administrator secure and monitor the device. The Menu Bar App doesn't require admin intervention and provides users with an icon in the Finder bar that acts as a gateway to all resources secured by JumpCloud. Although these applications are different, they must both be running on a user's device because the agent installs the Menu Bar App.

Why Should I Use the JumpCloud Menu Bar App?

Administrators can hide the JumpCloud Menu Bar App on a user's device, but we recommend that you leave it enabled for the following reasons:

• Leverage your hardened device. A device managed by JumpCloud is encrypted, uses security policies through JumpCloud, is protected with multi-factor authentication, requires strong passwords, and is scanning internally for malware threats. This is a secure environment for employees to manage identities and passwords.
• Reduce attacks when a user fails to spot scams. This includes spear-phishing emails that request users change their passwords, and identity portals proxied to intercept your employees’ credentials. Instead of requiring the user to manage security risks, put all of JumpCloud’s secured device-hosted apps and TLS-connection hashing behind the Menu Bar App gateway to ensure a more secure method for changing credentials.
• Improve user efficiency. Let your users focus on their work instead of managing their devices. TheMenu Bar App integrates identity and the JumpCloud User Portal with a user’s natural workflow on a device. The Menu Bar App simplifies password change by eliminating the need for users to leave their devices where they are working. Users don’t need to launch a browser, log in to another portal, or find a buried email with instructions on how to change a password. Through native OS notifications, the Menu Bar App visually reminds users that they need to change their JumpCloud IdentityOS passwords. This helps users change their passwords easily and immediately–no more nagging or locating the email sent by the IT administrator. This also minimizes the chances that users forget to change their passwords and are locked out until an admin can help.
• Change all password instances at the same time. When a user changes a password through the Menu Bar App, it ensures all resources are updated with the new password, including Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 passwords, network/RADIUS passwords, on-premise or cloud-based application passwords, and credentials for locally managed files on Samba servers and NAS appliances.
• Simplify identity management. Identity is usually poorly understood by employees. There are many password managers and Single Sign On (SSO) tools for web-based applications, not to mention Google Workspace accounts that provide login to other online services. Using a combination of tools with nothing authoritative that the employee can rely on causes confusion and requires employee documentation and education, and there are numerous tools and policies which must be used and followed. JumpCloud’s device app and Menu Bar App are designed to radically simplify how users manage access to all resources.

What Does the JumpCloud Menu Bar App Do?

The Manu Bar App can help both administrators and employees with tasks related to keeping online identities secure. Administrators don't need to remember to manually install the Menu Bar App because the JumpCloud agent silently installs it automatically. After it's installed, the app acts as a singular interface to a potentially complex IT infrastructure. Users benefit from an uninterrupted workflow after passing a one-time authentication challenge. The Menu Bar App can free your users from some of these tasks:

• Changing corporate account passwords
• Managing multi-factor authentication tokens
• Initiating SAML-based sessions for apps as a security measure

You can use JumpCloud's Menu Bar App to provide a unified and user-friendly experience on macOS devices to help users get more work done no matter where they are.

How Does the JumpCloud Menu Bar App Work?

• You must install the JumpCloud agent on the macOS device.
• The agent silently installs the Menu Bar App on the same device.
• In the JumpCloud Admin Portal, the macOS device must have a status of Active, System Reporting, as indicated by a green checkmark.
• The user logs in to the macOS device with JumpCloud IdentityOS credentials.
• The user sees the Menu Bar App icon in the Finder menu bar at the top of the screen.
• The user can quickly open the JumpCloud User Portal to access all allowed resources in one place without having to provide JumpCloud credentials again. 

Considerations

• The Menu Bar App only appears in the menu bar on macOS devices running the JumpCloud agent when a JumpCloud user is logged in.
• The menu bar icon can be hidden using a Menu Bar policy called JumpCloud App Controls.
• When a user opens the Mac App to change the password, the user must type in the new password, followed by the previously used password. The new password is synchronized with the FileVault® and Keychain® password stores.
• Password changes that occur outside the Mac App, such as in the User Portal or Active Directory, require the user to do a password sync in the Menu Bar App by entering their old (previous) password. They can leave this blank, but the user’s existing keychain will be archived and a new keychain will be generated.  
• Active Directory-managed users can’t use the Menu Bar App to reset their passwords.
• Users can continue to manually access the JumpCloud User Portal from the browser and authenticate again. Admins can’t force users to access the User Portal through the Menu Bar App.
• If you have multi-factor authentication (MFA) enabled on the User Portal, the Menu Bar App redirects the user to the login screen.
• If your users log in with Touch ID, they may have to enter a password to access the JumpCloud User Portal. This occurs because the Menu Bar App can only authenticate the user against the portal when the user is required to enter a password instead of using Touch ID.