The finger protocol typically provides details such as the user's login name, their full name, the terminal they are using, their idle time, when they last logged in, and their email address if available.

– The Finger protocol is typically used to retrieve information such as a user's full name, email address, and the time they last logged in. – Port 79 is the default port used for the Finger protocol. – The Finger protocol has several security concerns, and many modern systems and networks have disabled it entirely.

The finger program was written in 1971 by Les Earnest who created the program to solve the need of users who wanted information on other users of the network. Information on who is logged in was useful to check the availability of a person to meet.

The finger command may also be used to look up users on a remote system. The format is to specify the user as User@Host. If you omit the user name, the finger command provides the standard format listing on the remote system.