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Home / Glossary / PAP
Glossary Β· Protocol

PAP

Password Authentication Protocol

The simplest login method, which sends the username and password across as plain text.

Like shouting your name and password across a room to a clerk.

How it works

  • Nothing is scrambled.
  • Anyone who can see the traffic can read the password.
  • It is only safe inside an already encrypted tunnel.
  • Modern setups avoid it.

What can go wrong (example scenario)

A small office left an old remote login enabled that used this method. Someone on the same network read a staff password in a captured session.

How WILDCARD handles it

Network covers the managed firewall and switches that sit behind your provider's modem.

  • An old router login uses it.
  • A legacy dial-in service still accepts it.
  • A security check flags it.

A question owners ask

Is it safe to use?

Only if the connection is already encrypted. Otherwise, switch to a stronger method.

Network
  • Firewall managed and monitored
  • Switches kept current
  • On-prem Active Directory auth

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