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[unix-history] / usr / src / libexec / fingerd / fingerd.8

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.\"     @(#)fingerd.8	6.4 (Berkeley) 3/16/91
.\"
.Dd March 16, 1991
.Dt FINGERD 8
.Os BSD 4.3
.Sh NAME
.Nm fingerd
.Nd remote user information server
.Sh SYNOPSIS
.Nm fingerd
.Sh DESCRIPTION
.Nm Fingerd
is a simple protocol based on
.%T RFC742
that provides an interface to the
Name and Finger programs at several network sites.
The program is supposed to return a friendly,
human-oriented status report on either the system at the moment
or a particular person in depth.
There is no required format and the
protocol consists mostly of specifying a single
.Dq command line .
.Pp
.Nm Fingerd
listens for
.Tn TCP
requests at port 79.
Once connected it reads a single command line
terminated by a
.Aq Tn CRLF
which is passed to
.Xr finger 1 .
.Nm Fingerd
closes its connections as soon as the output is finished.
.Pp
If the line is null (i.e. just a
.Aq Tn CRLF
is sent) then 
.Xr finger
returns a
.Dq default
report that lists all people logged into
the system at that moment.
.Pp
If a user name is specified (e.g.
.Pf eric Aq Tn CRLF )
then the
response lists more extended information for only that particular user,
whether logged in or not.
Allowable
.Dq names
in the command line include both
.Dq login names
and
.Dq user names .
If a name is ambiguous, all possible derivations are returned.
.Sh SEE ALSO
.Xr finger 1
.Sh BUGS
Connecting directly to the server from a
.Tn TIP
or an equally narrow-minded
.Tn TELNET Ns \-protocol
user program can result
in meaningless attempts at option negotiation being sent to the
server, which will foul up the command line interpretation.
.Nm Fingerd
should be taught to filter out
.Tn IAC Ns \'s
and perhaps even respond
negatively
.Pq Tn IAC WON'T
to all option commands received.
.Sh HISTORY
The
.Nm
command appeared in
.Bx 4.3 .