Short for
Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol, a new technology for creating
Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) , developed jointly by
Microsoft Corporation, U.S. Robotics, and several
remote access vendor companies, known collectively as the
PPTP Forum. A VPN is a private
network of computers that uses the public
Internet to connect some
nodes. Because the Internet is essentially an open network, the Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) is used to ensure that messages transmitted from one VPN node to another are secure. With PPTP, users can dial in to their corporate network via the Internet.