Advantages and Disadvantages of PPTP

PPTP stands for point-to-point tunneling protocol and is commonly used with many VPN providers. It is basically a set of communication rules that are set to enable companies to extend their networks through private tunnels over the public internet connection routes. Like all other protocols, PPTP has its own advantages and disadvantages. Here is a summary of both sides.

The advantages

Compatibility with Microsoft’s Windows by default

The first major advantage of using PPTP is the fact that if you use a computer that operates using Microsoft’s Windows, it supports PPTP by default. This means that you will not experience a lot of trouble trying to install the required software and make it run smoothly.

Ease of use

The second major advantage of using PPTP protocol is the fact that when you set it up, it is much easier because the data is normally not encrypted using IPsec. This means that you will not need to install computer certificates or a public key infrastructure to access and use the protocol.

Cost-effective

The third major benefit of using this protocol is the fact that it is very cheap compared to some options such as L2TP and others. This is because it is quite easy to install. Actually, with basic networking knowledge, you can do it all by yourself. It has also been discovered that the protocol does not need many certificates to run, this means you will not need to spend money getting or creating them. The fourth advantage is the fact that this protocol is uncomplicated and hence, easy to use.

The disadvantages

PPTP has some limitations and here are some of the most popular ones:

Low security standards

To start with, PPTP is said to have poorer security compared to the other protocols. Secondly, PPTP does not offer data integrity or data origin verification. This means that you cannot be sure whether the data that is sent over this protocol is authentic or has been tampered with. This significantly lowers the reliability of using the protocol especially if your company is dealing with very sensitive information.

Lower performance on unstable connections

The other disadvantage associated with this protocol is that it normally has performance issues when used on unstable networks. Generally, it can be termed as an acceptable way to connect workers and share documents. However, it will not be of much help if you have a lot of private information that you need to share.