FINGERD -- A safer and more configurable version of this infamous daemon

This is a much updated version of a package put together by Mike Shanzer.

This package a new more functional version of the traditional fingerd.

What does this fingerd have to offer?

	- it has much enhanced logging.

	- it supports access control lists (ACLs):  you can restrict
	  finger requests to certain hosts (and certain users within
	  trusted networks if you trust identd, aka RFC-1413 nee RFC
	  931).

	- does not forward requests by default (in accordance with the
          recommendations of RFC 1288)

	- has other command-line and ACL control options to optionally
          implement further recommendations of RFC 1288, such as one to
          completely disable user name matching, one to prevent sending
          of user lists (i.e. listing all currently logged in users),
          another to turn off sending of ~/.plan files, and finally one
          to prevent sending of GECOS (office and telephone number
          sub-fields) and/or home directory.

	- it sports a "message of the day" file for sending host-wide
          announcements, disclaimers, etc.

	- it can execute programs when finger requests for specified
	  users are received and will return the output of such programs
	  to the remote user.

	- except for the last mentioned feature, it should be secure.

	- even with all of this it should be much simpler to configure
          and use than most any of the other so-called "enhanced"
          versions of fingerd -- it's certainly smaller and simpler,
          code-wise, than some of them!


TO BUILD FINGERD

Please see the file "INSTALL" for overall instructions on how to
configure and build this package.

In general you need only run "./configure && make && make install"

To install fingerd in a local directory but at the same time replace the
system binary, you should be able to run "make install-symlinks" after
having built and installed it as above.  This wil safely move aside the
vendor binary and install a symlink to your brand new custom fingerd.


FOR MORE INFORMATION

If you have any troubles, questions, or feature requests, please send
mail to <bugs@robohack.planix.com>.  The lastest version of this
software is available at:

	 <URL:ftp://ftp.weird.com/pub/local/fingerd.tar.gz>

or alternately at:

	 <URL:ftp://ftp.planix.com/pub/Planix/fingerd.tar.gz>

The original version of fingerd upon which this version is based is
still available from <URL:ftp://ftp.foobar.com/pub/fingerd-1.3.tar.gz>.
As Mike says in <URL:http://www.foobar.com/home/shanzer/fingerd.html> "I
have not touched this code in like 4 years [[note he means since 1995,
so now almost 5 years as of this release of this version]].  It should
still all work, but it is not currently in active development."

-- 
						Greg A. Woods
						<woods-fingerd@planix.com>


#ident	"@(#)fingerd:fingerd-1_4:README,v 1.6 2000/12/02 17:32:08 woods Exp"
