5 Advantages and Disadvantages of SSTP | Drawbacks & Benefits of SSTP

What is SSTP ?

Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol (SSTP) is one of the popular VPN tunneling protocols. It was first introduced to the Windows Vista version. Being developed by the Microsoft, it is one of the most secure protocols out there. The main function of SSTP is to direct PPTP traffic through SSL/TLS channel instead of other protocols.
 

Why is SSTP popular ?

The reason for people to endorse SSTP is due to the fact that it offers maximum level of security. And also for its TCP port type 433. Despite offering highest level of security, SSTP comes with certain limitations that cannot be ignored. Users have to consider this negative aspects as well to avoid potential risks.

 
In this article, I will listing out 5 Advantages and Disadvantages of SSTP | Drawbacks & Benefits of SSTP. Through this post, you will know the pros and cons of using SSTP.
 
Let's gets started,

 

Advantages of SSTP

 
1. Security
 
SSTP uses SSL 3.0 standard for encrypting internet data. These types of encryption ensures that no third party can ever gather the informations. However the level of encryption is just above average. But it is much higher than the PPTP protocol.
 
 
2. Internet Speeds
 
Compared to other protocols where speed is limited, SSTP is considerably faster. But only under the condition of having sufficient bandwidth. This makes it recommended to be used for conducting online activities.
 
 
3. Windows Integrity
 
Since SSTP is developed by the Microsoft, it comes integrated into Windows operating system. In fact it is one of the most reliable protocols for the Windows machines. And also using it on a Windows based device is easy as Microsoft regularly provides good support for this protocol.
 
 
4. Firewall Bypass
 
Establishing a VPN connection bypassing every firewall that comes over it can be done seamless using SSTP protocol. Regardless of whatever the firewall type that has been used, SSTP can be used to deal with them so that you can access the websites without getting blocked by them.
 
 
5. Content Access
 
Some contents on the Internet is region restricted that people from other parts of the world cannot access them. SSTP VPN makes it possible to access these types of contents. Whatever the content the user wants to make it, they can do it through SSTP VPN.
 

 

 

Disadvantages of SSTP

 
1. Compatibility
 
SSTP was made exclusively for Windows based devices. All the non-windows based devices has a problem working with SSTP. This includes Linux, Mac OS and even some of the older versions of Windows. Despite this if efforts are made to support them, it will not work fine as it does on Windows.
 
 
2. Connection Slowdown
 
Apart from SSTP using TCP protocol, its advanced encryption too has the capability to slow it down. This creates problem while gaming, streaming and other peer to peer activities.
 
 
3. Connection Dropping
 
SSTP protocol is not compatible with authenticated web proxies. As a result the connection could be dropped once the network admin locates the header.
 
 
4. TCP Meltdown
 
TCP Meltdown is a technical issue faced by the TCP transmission protocol. Since SSTP uses TCP it could undergo similar issues too. Once this happens the speed of the connection will be very slow. The reason for TCP being slower than the UDP protocol.
 
 
5. POODLE Attack
 
From recent times there are theories suggesting that SSTP is susceptible to POODLE attack. This is sue to the fact that SSTP is built upon SSL 3.0 which is highly known of being targeted to POODLE attacks.