Virtual Private Networking (VPN) using PPTP

Point-to-Point-Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) is a networking technology that supports virtual private networks (VPN), enabling remote users to access corporate networks securely across the Microsoft Windows platforms, Macintosh OSX platforms, and other point-to-point protocol (PPP)-enabled systems to dial into a local Internet service provider to connect securely to their corporate network through the Internet.

Choosing a VPN Client (IPSec vs PPTP)

Users have a choice to use IPSec (used by Cisco VPN) or PPTP (used by the built-in VPN in your operating system). The following is a list of some of the pros and cons to using either IPSEC or PPTP.

	IPSec	PPTP
Pro	supports 168 bit 3DES encryption (very secure) international standard	no additional softare needed (use built-in VPN) PDA support available for pocketPC 2002 and pocketPC 2003 no export restriction on cryptographic technology
Con	requires additional software PDA support requires 3rd party software (Movian VPN) under export restriction because of cryptographic software	supports 128 bit MPPE encryption (secure) encryption handled by vendor-specific protocol which has known weaknesses

Which one do I choose?

• If using PDA, the only option that is free of charge is PPTP
• If encryption integrity is a concern, IPSEC (Cisco Client) is best choice for data security.
• If searching for simplest way to use VPN without downloading additional software, then PPTP is the best choice.
• If you intend to use VPN in an area with cryptographic export restrictions, you must use PPTP.

Supported operating systems

	Windows Vista	Configuration
	Windows XP	Configuration
	Windows 2000	Configuration
	Mac OS X	Configuration
	iPhone	Configuration