Password Authentication Protocol (PAP)

  • Article

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

Password Authentication Protocol (PAP)

Password Authentication Protocol (PAP) is a simple authentication protocol in which the user name and password is sent to the remote access server in a plaintext (unencrypted) form. Using PAP is strongly discouraged because your passwords are easily readable from the Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) packets exchanged during the authentication process. PAP is typically used only when connecting to older UNIX-based remote access servers that do not support more secure authentication protocols.

To configure a connection for PAP, see Configure identity authentication and data encryption settings.

Notes

  • You cannot use Microsoft Point-to-Point Encryption (MPPE) if PAP is used to authenticate the connection.

  • If the connection is configured to require a secured password and you attempt to connect to a server that is configured only for PAP, the Windows XP remote access client terminates the connection.