This is bsd-finger-0.16 for Linux.

This package updates bsd-finger-0.10, which updated the finger and
fingerd from NetKit-0.09.

If you're reading this off a CD, go right away and check the net
archives for later versions and security fixes.

Contents: 
	finger		Program for printing user information
	fingerd		Daemon for remote finger access
	
Requires:
	Working compiler, libc, and kernel.

Security:
	bsd-finger-0.16 fixes some possible denial of service attacks
	against fingerd.

	bsd-finger-0.10 fixed a denial of service situation where
	users' .plan or .project files are named pipes.

	The NetKit-0.09 and earlier versions of this code fixed a
	number of now well-known security problems. Please don't use
	older versions.

Installation:
	Do "./configure --help" and decide what options you want. The
	defaults should be suitable for most Linux systems. Then run
	the configure script.

	Do "make" to compile.
	Then (as root) do "make install".

	Save a backup copy of any mission-critical program in case the
	new one doesn't work, and so forth. We warned you.

DEC Alpha:
	Compaq were kind enought to make available their C compiler for
	the Alpha, you can down load this for free from
	http://www.unix.digital.com/linux (At time of document 25/11/1999)
	this package has been compiled and tested with this compiler as
	with the GNU compiler. To compile this from source simply issue
		CC=ccc ./configure
	
Note:
	If you are using the finger daemon from this package with a 
	custom finger client, rather than the finger client in this
	package, you will need to update your client to send carriage
	returns (CR, or '\r' in C) before line feeds (LF, or '\n' in
	C) if the finger client's standard output is a socket.

	This is because as of bsd-finger-0.15, finger probes this
	condition and sends CRs itself instead of expecting fingerd
	to make an extra copy of all the data through a pipe just to
	add CRs in.

	Ignoring this circumstance and always sending LF instead of
	CR/LF will in most cases work, but is not RFC-compliant.

Bugs:
	Please make sure your header files in /usr/include match your
	libc version installed in /lib and /usr/lib. If you have weird
	problems this is the most likely culprit.

	Also, before reporting a bug, be sure you're working with the
	latest version.

	If something doesn't compile for you, fix it and send diffs.
	If you can't, send the compiler's error output.

	If it compiles but doesn't work, send as complete a bug report as 
	you can. Patches and fixes are welcome, as long as you describe 
	adequately what they're supposed to fix. Please, one patch per
	distinct fix. Please do NOT send the whole archive back or
	reindent the source.

	Be sure to send all correspondence in e-mail. Postings to netnews 
	will not be seen due to the enormous volume.

	Please don't report known bugs (see the BUGS file(s)) unless you
	are including fixes. :-)

	Mail should be sent to: netbug@ftp.uk.linux.org


Note: please see http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~dholland/computers/netkit.html
if you are curious why it's been so long since the last NetKit release.
(The short version is that I gave things to some other people, who let
them kind of slide.)

I do not currently plan to continue maintaining NetKit; I am doing this
release and perhaps one or two more, and then I intend to give the source
tree to Red Hat or some similar organization for long-term maintenance.

David A. Holland
12 December 1999
