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Finger (protocol)
In computer networking, the Name/Finger protocol and the Finger user information protocol are simple network protocols for the exchange of human-oriented status and user information. Name/Finger protocolThe Name/Finger protocol is based on Request for Comments document RFC 742 (December 1977) as an interface to the Prior to the finger program, the only way to get this information on WAITS was with a WHO program that showed IDs and terminal line numbers (the server's internal number of the communication line over which the user's terminal is connected) for logged-in users. In reference to the name FINGER, Les Earnest, wrote that he saw users of the WAITS time-sharing system run their fingers down the output of the WHO command.[1][better source needed] Finger user information protocolThe finger daemon runs on TCP port 79. The client will (in the case of remote hosts) open a connection to port 79. An RUIP (Remote User Information Program) is started on the remote end of the connection to process the request. The local host sends the RUIP one line query based upon the Finger query specification, and waits for the RUIP to respond. The RUIP receives and processes the query, returns an answer, then initiates the close of the connection. The local host receives the answer and the close signal, then proceeds to close its end of the connection. The Finger user information protocol is based on RFC 1288 (The Finger User Information Protocol, December 1991). Typically the server side of the protocol is implemented by a program The program would supply information such as whether a user is currently logged-on, e-mail address, full name etc. As well as standard user information, finger displays the contents of the Security concernsSupplying such detailed information as e-mail addresses and full names was considered acceptable and convenient in the early days of networking, but later was considered questionable for privacy and security reasons.[citation needed] Finger information has been used by hackers as a way to initiate a social engineering attack on a company's computer security system. By using a finger client to get a list of a company's employee names, email addresses, phone numbers, and so on, a hacker can call or email someone at a company requesting information while posing as another employee. The finger daemon has also had several[citation needed] exploitable security holes crackers have used to break into systems. For example, in 1988 the Morris worm exploited an overflow vulnerability in For these reasons, by the late 1990s the vast majority of sites on the Internet no longer offered the service.[citation needed] Application support
It is implemented on Unix (like macOS), Unix-like systems (like Linux and FreeBSD), and current versions of Windows (finger.exe command). Other software has finger support: See alsoReferences
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