What is PPTP

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Point to point tunneling protocol (PPTP) is an extension of the pre-existing PPP or point to point protocol. So what is PPTP? It is the technology that allows the private transmission of data via a public network such as the internet.

Whereas previously, dedicated point to point links were required to ensure secure transmission of data across distances or even next door, now the tunneling technology of PPTP allows private transmission of that PPP data right "in front" of others on the internet. It is what makes VPNs such a valuable data-sharing tool.

The question of what is PPTP can be clarified by looking at a situation in which the technology is necessary - virtual private networks. When a client wants to have access to a computer or network of computers from a remote location or wants others to have that access, a popular solution is a virtual private network. In order to allow secure remote access to a network, expensive physical point-to-point connections were once required.

With the advent of the internet, virtual private networks allow a much more cost-efficient and easily scalable means of allowing a remote user or groups of users access to the information on a server, or main network. But how do you share information across the internet without your transmissions being seen or possibly corrupted?

Herein lays the answer to the question what is PPTP. An invisible "tunnel" is created through the internet using point to point tunneling protocol that only you and your chosen users (or networks) can see and have access to. This form of transmitting is also called encapsulating, because one protocol is wrapped inside another.
The encapsulated data is encrypted and sent in PPP "packets" via a software or hardware solution at your network's entrance to the tunnel. It is sent across the internet through your private tunnel, invisible to others.

Even if they can find the "tunnel," they cannot see inside of it to determine if, when or how much data is being transferred. At the remote location, or end of the tunnel, the PPTP is recognized by that location's network and allowed to pass through. The PPP data is then unencrypted and delivered to the user.