RT AC-5300 - Cannot connect PPTP server from remote Win 10

[Laxarus]

Hello,

I tried everything I could think of to fix this but no such luck.

Firmware: Asuswrt-merlin 380.66_6

PPTP Server running.

On my win 10 machine I can ping telnet "ddns:1723". However windows cannot establish a pptp vpn connection to router.

Error: "The connection to the remote computer could not be established, so the port used for this connection was closed."

Win 10 connection settings are all ok.

The settings I made are all based on this video. I also tried a couple of different combinations but couldn't manage to succeed.

Any help is appreciated.

 

[RMerlin]

Make sure you test from outside your network, not from inside your LAN.

 

[Laxarus]

Make sure you test from outside your network, not from inside your LAN.

My tests were outside of my network.

 

[RMerlin]

I remember having problems with the default settings in Windows 8 - don't know if Microsoft ocrrected that with Windows 10. Check your encryption settings as shown on the second post here:

https://social.technet.microsoft.co...n-security-options?forum=win10itpronetworking

BTW, I'd strongly recommend dropping PPTP and switching to OpenVPN instead. PPTP is considered broken, as in it's now trivial to crack its weak encryption. PPTP is getting phased out, with Apple dropping it last year from iOS/MacOS. Only reason it's still in Windows is probably because it's a Microsoft protocol, but I expect them to eventually phase it out as well.

 

[sfx2000]

I agree with RMerlin - L2TP/IPSec or OpenVPN are much better options...

I was a bit surprised actually that Win10 still allowed PPTP - as this has been deprecated across the client space due to security issues with authentication and encryption. I understand why folks still might consider PPTP, as it's easy to configure, and it's fast compared to OpenVPN, but it's not very secure...

 

[RMerlin]

I agree with RMerlin - L2TP/IPSec or OpenVPN are much better options...

I was a bit surprised actually that Win10 still allowed PPTP - as this has been deprecated across the client space due to security issues with authentication and encryption. I understand why folks still might consider PPTP, as it's easy to configure, and it's fast compared to OpenVPN, but it's not very secure...

Wanna bet that Microsoft still has a lot of business customers still using it, therefore making it hard for them to remove it? And since there's no add-on clients to allow their customers to replace it, we're still being saddled with this obsolete technology as part of the client.

I suspect it will take another WannaCrypt-like crisis to get them to change that, just like it did with SMB1 (and still, they are only phasing out SMB1 server mode for now, not client mode).

 

[sfx2000]

Wanna bet that Microsoft still has a lot of business customers still using it, therefore making it hard for them to remove it? And since there's no add-on clients to allow their customers to replace it, we're still being saddled with this obsolete technology as part of the client.

In the enterprise, PPTP isn't so common anymore - and this does go down to how the enterprise network has evolved over time... most of them have moved over to various SSL/VPN solutions like Juniper, Aruba, and Cisco based solutions - as they are secure, and they offer cross platform solutions for Win/Mac/iOS/Android/ChromeOS even...

Small Business - probably more at risk, as there are still "all in one" network gateway solutions that support PPTP, and like I mentioned earlier, it's easy to config.

For home users - avoid PPTP, as there are other options that are far more secure for inbound VPN services...

 

[RMerlin]

Small Business - probably more at risk, as there are still "all in one" network gateway solutions that support PPTP, and like I mentioned earlier, it's easy to config.

Still a lot using it. In fact, tomorrow I'm migrating a customer from an RV042's PPTP to an Asus RT-AC66_B1's OpenVPN. Along with replacing their WinXP-based file and mail server. (I know, been trying for two years to get them to upgrade, but they ran into major budget issues during that time, the kind that probably even put their survival at risk...)

 

[yorgi]

Hello,

I tried everything I could think of to fix this but no such luck.

Firmware: Asuswrt-merlin 380.66_6

PPTP Server running.

On my win 10 machine I can ping telnet "ddns:1723". However windows cannot establish a pptp vpn connection to router.

Error: "The connection to the remote computer could not be established, so the port used for this connection was closed."

Win 10 connection settings are all ok.

The settings I made are all based on this video. I also tried a couple of different combinations but couldn't manage to succeed.

Any help is appreciated.

try disabling windows firewall and see if that works.
if it does then
go to control panel and start windows firewall. Then click on advanced settings.
Now create a new Inbound rule. Program/All Programs/Allow the connection/Domain, public and private enabled, then save the rule as VPN TCP.
Look for the rule you created in the inbound rules and double click on it so you can see the properties. Go to protocols and Ports and put Protocol TCP on all local ports and remote ports. In scope "Local IP addresses" add the local IP address of the win 10 pc you want to have access to file sharing "these IP addresses" example 192.168.1.124 and in "Remote IP address" "These IP addresses" put the IP address of the VPN server sunbet. example 10.8.0.0/24
Check and see the "VPN Subnet / Netmask" in advanced settings in VPN server to make sure you put the right address.

that will work.

I also suggest you use openvpn instead