The difference between pptp and l2tp: protocol security and applicable scenarios comparison

The protocol underpinnings

PPTP and L2TP this pair of "old buddy" in the field of proxy IP mixed for almost 20 years, but many newcomers still can not distinguish their doorway. To make an analogy, PPTP is like a courier who throws packages directly at the door, while L2TP will first check the package seal before delivery. From the network protocol layer, PPTP in the second layer (data link layer) naked, L2TP is covered with the third layer (network layer) vest work.

What we fear most about proxy IPs is thatdata runawayPPTP with MPPE encryption supports up to 128-bit keys, which was impressive in 1999, but now any script kiddie can crack it.L2TP must be paired with IPsec encryption, which is the equivalent of putting a bulletproof vest on the packet, and the AES-256 encryption standard is still bankable protection.

Who's the best at security?

Let's look at a real case: in 2022, an e-commerce platform used PPTP to transmit order data, and 70,000 pieces of user information were intercepted by a man-in-the-middle attack. If L2TP/IPsec is used, the attacker can't even break through the handshake phase. ipipgo's technical team has found that L2TP's protection ability in a public WiFi environment is more than 8 times stronger than PPTP.

Application Scenario Matching

Although L2TP is more secure, PPTP has its own room for survival. For example, if some old monitoring devices only recognize PPTP protocol, or if you need to build a test environment quickly, PPTP can be deployed 3 times faster than L2TP. But if you are dealing with sensitive business data, especially with ipipgo'sResidential Proxy IPWhen doing data collection, L2TP is highly recommended.

A friend doing cross-border e-commerce told me that they used ipipgo's dynamic residential IP with L2TP protocol to successfully circumvent a platform's risk control system. The key lies in the fact that the double authentication mechanism of L2TP makes the platform think that it is a real home network, while the single-layer verification of PPTP is easily recognized.

Choosing an agreement depends on the doorway

Do you know how to choose now? Remember the three mnemonics:PPTP for old equipment, L2TP for new services; PPTP for file transfer on intranet, L2TP for data running on extranet; PPTP for temporary testing, L2TP for long-term stabilityThe ipipgo backend supports intelligent protocol switching, and will automatically downgrade to PPTP to preserve the connection when encountering network fluctuations.

There's a pitfall to be especially aware of: some ISPs will restrict UDP ports for L2TP. You can try ipipgo'sProtocol artifactsfunction to disguise L2TP traffic as normal HTTPS traffic, and pro-tested to break through the port restriction of 90%.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Will using L2TP slow down my internet speed?
A: Now the popularity of gigabit broadband, ipipgo measured L2TP transmission loss of less than 5%, equivalent to the download speed from 100M down to 95M, the naked eye simply can not see the difference.

Q: Which protocol is more mobile friendly?
A: iOS has better support for L2TP, and Android is recommended to use a third-party client. ipipgo provides full-platform configuration tutorials, even Symbian systems can be handled.

Q: Does the protocol affect the IP switching speed?
A: No impact at all! ipipgo's IP pool scheduling system and protocol layer operate independently, switching IPs in as little as 0.8 seconds, which is faster than bubble timing.

Lastly, I would like to say something out of my heart: choosing a protocol is like wearing clothes, the key depends on the occasion. No matter which protocol you use, remember to match ipipgo's high-quality proxy IP, real residential IP resources in 240+ countries around the world, security and stability are not a problem. Now you know how to play around with these two classic protocols, right?