Two-factor authentication for Mailchimp using AlterEgo

MailChimp is an innovative company that provides mailing list management services with a twist. Their down-to-earth approach and focus towards the best user experience is what differentiates them on the market. The company recently announced a new integration option which provides its users with two-factor authentication capabilities.

AlterEgo is a web application service developed by the company that is behind Mailchimp, and their plan is to spin off this concept so that it can be used with any web application. The concept seems very straightforward, and the best place to start is to set up the integration with Mailchimp.

It will take you just five minutes to do that. First you must surf to AlterEgo’s web site and create a user account. The sign up form is basic and even provides you with a strong password generator.

The account must be confirmed via an activation link that is sent to the email address you used for registration. Unfortunately, Gmail will identify the message as spam, so you will need to locate it in the Spam folder.

In the meantime, you must login to your Mailchimp interface and open up the Account > Integrations screen. There, along Facebook, Zoho and similar services, you will find AlterEgo. You are now ready to authorize the connection.

Your request is forwarded to AlterEgo servers and you must confirm the final step of the integration.

Everything is ready, so you should just test the connection to see if the system works.

From now on, two-factor authentication is enabled on your Mailchimp account. When you try to login you will first be greeted by the classic Mailchimp login interface.

The new screen after the first login provides you with a link where you can generate a one time passcode. Once you do that, just copy and paste it into the required field. Clicking on the Authenticate button will transfer you automatically into your Mailchimp user interface.