[plug] PoPToP PPTP server for Linux ->Windows VPN

[Craig Ringer]

Hi folks

I was wondering if someone on [plug] has any experience with PPTP, 
specifically the PoPToP VPN server for Linux. I'm having to deal with my 
first "mobile user" here (*ARRGGH*) and need a VPN option that I can 
restrict (firewall off SMB, etc), will run well on a Linux server and 
accept Windows client machines.

IPSEC is not an option unless FreeS/WAN advanced by several lightyears 
since I last looked at it (no more cases of total communication loss 
after one end doesn't cleanly disconnect, etc).

So I'm looking at PPTP. Is it one of those "it's secure! really! we 
promise!" protocols, or is it actually useful (implementation bugs aside)?

The last resort will be putty's plink with a passwordless private key 
(very restricted permissions) to enable access to POP3 mail, SMTP, and 
(!!) telnet. That's ugly in many ways however, including the fact that 
it'd have to be used even when plugged directly into the local LAN.

If anybody has worked with roaming windows (l)users needing access to a 
network with a linux gateway, I'd love to hear of your experiences.

Craig Ringer