Quoting Russell Coker (russell@coker.com.au):
Wikipedia says that the security of PPTP is weak.
{nostalgia} My, how times change. When I mentioned that _very_ fact a bit over a decade ago, on a mailing list thread[1] in July 2001, to help a user avoid using very bad security, that triggered off what eventually emerged as a long-term character-assassination campaign against yr. humble servant that one Russ P. Herrold and a small motley crew of fellow passive-aggressives started, carried out both behind my back[2] and to my face[3], and coordinating via a mailing list in rural Florida. Because, I assume, they all desperately needed hobbies. ;-> And, astoundingly, PPTP security is _still_ weak. [1] http://lists.svlug.org/archives/svlug/2001-July/033164.html http://lists.svlug.org/archives/svlug/2001-July/033228.html http://lists.svlug.org/archives/svlug/2001-July/033231.html [2] http://slugarchives.nks.net/List/slug-politics.archive.0107/0058.html [3] At the same time as the behind-my-back posting in Florida, Herrold tried to troll me via (unsolicited) personal mail, to which I attempted to respond constructively:
I wonder sometimes if you've studied under DJBernstein; I consider it part of your charm.
Dan threatens to throw people off his mailing lists if they talk about patches that he disapproves of. He calls them names; he threatens litigation. I do none of those things. I state my views on technology. Sometimes, someone does something like ask on a mailing list "How do I implement PPTP on Linux?" I feel free to reply "PPTP is a terrible security solution, and here's why." Because that's the best advice I feel I can give on the subject. When people then complain that I haven't answered the original question, and start calling me names, I have to start wondering who's out of line. I'm told that giving what I consider the best advice I can offer is "not helping the user", because it doesn't include the requested data. I consider that rubbish. I'm told that I'm somehow preventing others from speaking differently. That's rubbish, too. And I'm intrigued at the notion of this being similar to what Dan Bernstein does. Would you care to explain? No good deed, and all that.