33. Other Internet Services

There are many Internet services other than email and the World Wide Web; this chapter describes how to use many of the other popular services, including telnet, ftp, and finger.

33.1 Connecting to Another System		Connecting to a remote system.
33.2 Transferring Files with Another System		Transferring files between systems.
33.3 Reading Usenet		Reading Usenet news.
33.4 Listing Online System and User Activity		Checking if users or systems are online.
33.5 Sending a Message to Another User's Terminal		Sending messages to other terminals.
33.6 Chatting with Other Users		Chatting with other users.

33.1 Connecting to Another System

Use telnet to connect to a remote system. Give the name of the system to connect to as an argument, specifying either its name or numeric IP address. If that system is reachable, you will be connected to it and presented with a login: or other connection prompt (the network is not exclusive to Linux systems) just as if you were seated at a terminal connected to that system. If you have an account on that system, you can then log in to it (see section Logging In to the System).

• To connect to the system kanga.ins.cwru.edu, type:

  $ telnet kanga.ins.cwru.edu RET Trying 129.22.8.32... Connected to kanga.INS.CWRU.Edu. Escape character is '^]'. BSDI BSD/OS 2.1 (kanga) (ttypf) /\ WELCOME TO THE... _! !_ _!__ __!_ __ ! ! _! !_ ! ! ! ! ! ! /\ ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !___ ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !_!_ ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! _! ! !_!_ ! ! !_ ! ! !_! ! ! ! ! ! CLEVELAND FREE-NET ! ! COMMUNITY COMPUTER SYSTEM ! !____________________________________! brought to you by Case Western Reserve University Office of Information Services Are you: 1. A registered user 2. A visitor Please enter 1 or 2: 1 RET Enter your user ID (in lower case) at the Login: prompt. Then enter your password when asked. Note that the password will not print on the screen as you type it. Login:

In this example, the user connected to the system at kanga.ins.cwru.edu; the bottom Login: prompt was the prompt of the remote system (if you are ever unsure what system you are on, use hostname as a shell prompt; see section Running a Command).

To disconnect from the system, follow the normal procedures for logging out from the system you are connected to (for how to do that on a Linux system, see section Logging Out of the System).

• To disconnect from a remote Linux system, type:

  $ C-d Connection closed. $

In the preceding example, the first shell prompt was on the remote system, and the second prompt was on the local system.

33.1.1 Suspending a Connection with Another System		Suspending a connection with another system.
33.1.2 Connecting to Another System with Encryption		Encrypting a connection with another system.

33.1.1 Suspending a Connection with Another System

You can also temporarily escape back to the local shell by typing the escape character, which is a key sequence that is interpreted by telnet before it reaches the remote system. You will then be brought to the telnet command prompt, where you can suspend with the `z' command; to return to the remote system, bring the job back into the foreground (see section Putting a Job in the Foreground).

• To temporarily return to a local shell prompt, type:

  faraway-system$ C-[ telnet> z RET [2]+ Stopped telnet $

• To return to the remote system, type:

  $ fg RET faraway-system$

In the first of the two preceding examples, the escape character C-[ was typed on the remote system, whose shell prompt in this example is `faraway-system$' (you don't have to type the escape character at a shell prompt, though; you can type it regardless of what program you are running or where you are on the remote system). Then, the `z' command was given to telnet to suspend the telnet connection. In the second example, the suspended telnet connection to the remote system was brought back into the foreground.

NOTE: You should be aware that it's possible (though not often desirable) to "nest" multiple layers of telnet sessions on top of each other by connecting from one system to the next, to the next, and so on, without disconnecting from the previous system. To avoid this, make sure you know which host you're leaving when you're about to telnet off to another; the hostname tool is useful for this (see section Logging In to the System).

33.1.2 Connecting to Another System with Encryption

@sf{Debian}: `kerberos4kth-user'
@sf{WWW}: http://web.mit.edu/kerberos/www/
@sf{WWW}: http://www.openssh.com/

NOTE: In order to be of any use, the services and tools discussed in this chapter require that your system is online or otherwise connected to a network; see Communications.

33.2 Transferring Files with Another System

FTP ("File Transfer Protocol") is a way to exchange files across systems. Use the ftp tool to connect to another system using this protocol, giving the name or numeric IP address of the system you want to connect to as an argument. Once connected, you will be prompted to log in with a username and password (if you have one on that system).

Many systems are set up to accept "anonymous ftp" connections, where a public repository of files are available for downloading by the general public; to use this, log in with a username of anonymous, and give your email address for a password.

• To make an anonymous ftp connection to ftp.leo.org, type:

$ ftp ftp.leo.org RET
Connected to ftp.leo.org.
220-Welcome to LEO.ORG.
220-See file README for more information about this archive.
220-
220-Your connection class is named: The world outside Germany
220-
220-If you don't connect from inside Munich and login anonymously,
220-your data transfers are limited to a certain bandwidth.
220-
220-If you notice unusual behaviour, drop a note to ftp-admin@leo.org.
220 FTP server leo.org-0.9alpha ready.
Name (ftp.leo.org:m): anonymous RET
331 Guest login ok, send your email address as password.
Password: at118@po.cwru.edu RET
230-      _    ___  ___
230-     | |  | __|/   \            LEO - Link Everything Online
230-     | |__| _| | - |        Munich University of Technology (TUM)
230-     |___/|___|\___/           Department of Computer Science
230-
230-       This Anonymous FTP site is in Munich, Germany, Europe.
230-                  It's Tue Sep 28 18:31:43 MET DST 1999.
230-   Please transfer files during non-business hours (1800-0900 CET).
Remote system type is UNIX.
Using binary mode to transfer files.
ftp>

Once connected and logged in, use the cd and ls commands to change directory and to list files on the remote system.

It is standard practice for public systems to have a `/pub' directory on their FTP host that contains all the files and goodies available to the general public.

• To change to the `/pub' directory on the remote system and look at the files that are there, type:

  ftp> cd /pub RET 250 Directory changed to /pub. ftp> ls RET ftp> ls 200 PORT command successful. 150 Opening ASCII connection for file (918 bytes) total 30258 -rw-rw-r-- 1 ftpadmin ftpadmin 10942767 Sep 28 06:18 INDEX.gz drwxr-xr-x 5 ftpadmin ftpadmin 512 Sep 17 18:22 comp -rw-rw-r-- 1 ftpadmin ftpadmin 9512498 Sep 28 06:40 ls-lR.gz drwxr-xr-x 2 ftpadmin ftpadmin 512 Sep 17 18:22 rec drwxr-xr-x 3 ftpadmin ftpadmin 512 Sep 17 18:22 science 226 Transfer completed with 918 Bytes/s. ftp>

In this example, the `/pub' directory contained three subdirectories (`comp', `rec', and `science') and two files, `INDEX.gz' and `ls-lR.gz'; many public systems have files similar to these in their `/pub' directories---`INDEX.gz' is a listing of all files on their ftp site, with descriptions, and `ls-lR.gz' is the output of the command ls -lR run on the directory tree of their ftp server.

The following subsections describe how to upload and download files. Use the quit command to exit ftp and end the connection to the remote system.

33.2.1 Uploading a File		Uploading files.
33.2.2 Downloading a File		Downloading files.

33.2.1 Uploading a File

Use the put command to upload a file; give the name of the file as an argument. put takes that file in the current directory of the local system, and puts a copy of it in the current directory of the remote system.

• To put a copy of the file `thyme.rcp' from the current directory on the local system to the current directory of the remote system, type:

  ftp> put thyme.rcp RET

The current directory of the local system is, by default, the directory where you ran the ftp command. To change directories on your local system, use lcd; it works just like the cd command, but it changes the local directory.

• To change to the parent directory of the current directory on the local system, type:

  ftp> lcd .. RET Local directory now /home/james/demos ftp>

In this example, the local current directory is now `/home/james/demos'.

There are other important commands for downloading files--use `i' to specify that files be transferred as binary; normally, the transfer is set up for text files. When you want to transfer programs, archives, compressed files, or any other non-text file, set the transfer type to `i' first.

In recent years, most public systems have added a security measure forbidding the upload by anonymous users to anywhere but the `/incoming' or `/pub/incoming' directories.

The mput command works like put but allows you to specify wildcards. By default, mput asks you, for each file, whether to upload the file or not; to turn off this file prompting, type prompt before giving the mput command. This command is a toggle--type prompt again to turn file prompting back on for your session.

33.2.2 Downloading a File

The get command works like put, but in reverse--specify a file on the remote system, and get saves a copy to the current directory on the local system. Again, use i first when downloading non-text files. (You can also download text files with i, so it is good practice to always set it before you transfer files; most Linux systems are configured to set the type to `i' immediately upon connection).

• To download the file `INDEX.gz' in the current directory on the remote system, saving it to your `~/tmp' directory, type:

  ftp> lcd ~/tmp RET Local directory now /home/james/tmp ftp get INDEX.gz RET local: INDEX.gz remote: INDEX.gz Transferred 10942767 bytes ftp>

NOTE: The mget command works like get but allows wildcards; as with mput, you will be prompted to verify each file unless you use the prompt command first to turn this off.

33.3 Reading Usenet

@sf{WWW}: http://www.faqs.org/usenet/index.html
@sf{WWW}: http://www.geocities.com/ResearchTriangle/Lab/6882/

The following table lists the "Big Eight" Usenet hierarchies and give examples of some newsgroups in each one.

While there are many other hierarchies, these eight are technically the only newsgroups considered to be part of Usenet proper. While netnews is the term for the collection of all newsgroups including those in Usenet, these terms are often used interchangeably.

The "alternative" hierarchy, `alt', is perhaps the most popular hierarchy of all--just about every subject you might want to discuss has an appropriate newsgroup here, including non sequiturs. There are also hierarchies for topics concerning certain geographical areas; for example, the `cols.' hierarchy is for topics pertaining to Columbus, Ohio, and `seattle' is for Seattle, Washington. So, while `cols.forsale' pertains to items for sale in the greater Columbus area, `seattle.forsale' is for items for sale in and around Seattle. Hierarchies can exist also for certain organizations; for example, the `gnu' hierarchy is for newsgroups concerning the GNU Project, and `bit' is for newsgroup redistributions of the popular Bitnet LISTSERV mailing lists.

The following recipes describe tools for reading and posting articles to netnews.

33.3.1 Choosing a Newsreader		Choosing a newsreader.
33.3.2 Finding Newsgroups for a Topic		Finding newsgroups for a topic.

33.3.1 Choosing a Newsreader

An application that lets you read and post articles to newsgroups is called a newsreader. Here are some of the best newsreaders available for Linux-based systems.

33.3.2 Finding Newsgroups for a Topic

@sf{Debian}: `nn'
@sf{WWW}: ftp://ftp.uwa.edu.au/pub/nn/beta/

• To output a list of all newsgroups that match the pattern `society', type:

  $ nngrep society RET

Use the `-u' option to only search through unsubscribed groups. This is useful if you are subscribed to a number of groups, and you are looking only for groups you aren't subscribed to yet.

• To output a list of all unsubscribed-to newsgroups that match the pattern `society', type:

  $ nngrep society RET

In the previous example, if you were already subscribed to the group alt.society.neutopia, that group will not be displayed; but other groups matching the pattern `society' that you are not subscribed to would be listed.

33.4 Listing Online System and User Activity

The following tools are used to list the activity of other users and systems on the Internet--showing whether or not they are currently online and perhaps displaying a little more information about them.

33.4.1 Checking Whether a System Is Online		Is that system online?
33.4.2 Checking Whether a User Is Online		Is that user online?
33.4.3 Listing Who Is Logged In to a System		Who is on that system?
33.4.4 Finding the IP Address of a Host Name		What is the IP address of that system?
33.4.5 Finding the Host Name of an IP Address		What is the name for that IP address?
33.4.6 Listing the Owner of a Domain Name		Who is behind that domain name?

33.4.1 Checking Whether a System Is Online

Use ping to determine whether a particular system is currently connected to the Internet.

Type ping followed by the name or numeric IP address of the system you want to check; if your system is online and the system to be checked is also online, ping should continually output lines telling how long the latency, in milliseconds, is between the two systems. Type C-c to interrupt it and stop pinging.

• To ping the host bfi.org, type:

  $ ping bfi.org RET PING bfi.org (209.196.135.250): 56 data bytes 64 bytes from 209.196.135.250: icmp_seq=0 ttl=63 time=190.0 ms 64 bytes from 209.196.135.250: icmp_seq=1 ttl=63 time=159.9 ms 64 bytes from 209.196.135.250: icmp_seq=2 ttl=63 time=160.5 ms C-c --- bfi.org ping statistics --- 3 packets transmitted, 3 packets received, 0% packet loss round-trip min/avg/max = 159.9/170.1/190.0 ms $

In this example, the host bfi.org was pinged and a total of three pings were sent and received before the user typed C-c to interrupt it. As long as these ping lines are output, you know that the other machine is connected to the Internet (or at least to the same network that your localhost is connected to).

You really don't need to analyze the information on each line of a ping message--the only useful information is the number at the end of the line, which tells you how many milliseconds it took to go out to the Internet, touch or "ping" that host, and come back.(43) The quicker the better---pings that are four or five digits long (or greater) mean a slow connection between the two machines. When you interrupt the ping, some statistics are output, including the minimum, average, and maximum number of milliseconds it took to ping the given host. In the example above, the high was 190 and the low was 159.9 milliseconds, with an average of 170.1.

NOTE: If your own system is not online, ping will report that either the network is unreachable or that the host isn't found.

33.4.2 Checking Whether a User Is Online

Use finger to check whether or not a given user is online. Give as an argument the username of the user (if on the local system) or their email address (if on a remote system). This is called "fingering" a user.

If the system they are using has finger enabled (most Unix-based systems should), the command will tell you the following: the date and time when they last logged in; whether or not they are currently logged in; their full name; their office room and telephone number; their home directory; what shell they use; whether or not they have mail waiting; the last time they read mail; and, finally, their "plan," as described below.

• To finger the user bradley@ap.spl.org, type:

$ finger bradley@ap.spl.org RET
[ap.spl.org]
Login: bradley                         Name: Bradley J Milton
Directory: /sp1/bradley                Shell: /bin/tcsh
Last login Wed Jan 20 16:38 1999 (PST) on ttypb from zais.pair.com
No mail.
Plan:
To learn to how use Linux and GNU software.
$

In this example, the user bradley on the system at ap.spl.org is not currently logged in, logged in last on 20 January, and uses the tsch shell.

NOTE: On Unix-based systems, you can put information in a hidden file in your home directory called `.plan', and that text will be output when someone fingers you. Some people put elaborate information in their `.plan' files; in the early 1990s, it was very much in vogue to have long, rambling .plans. Sometimes, people put information in their `.plan' file for special events--for example, someone who is having a party next weekend might put directions to their house in their `.plan' file.

33.4.3 Listing Who Is Logged In to a System

To get a listing of all users who are currently logged in to a given system, use finger and specify the name (or numeric IP address) of the system preceded with an at sign (`@').

This gives a listing of all the users who are currently logged in on that system. It doesn't give each individual's `.plan's, but the output includes how long each user has been idle, where they are connected from, and (sometimes) what command they are running. (The particular information that is output depends on the operating system and configuration of the remote system.)

• To output the users who are currently logged in to the system ap.spl.org, type:

$ finger @ap.spl.org RET
[spl.org]
Login      Name              Tty  Idle  Login Time   Office
allison    Allison Chaynes  *q2 16:23  Sep 27 17:22 (gate1.grayline)
gopherd    Gopher Client    *r4  1:01  Sep 28 08:29 (gopherd)
johnnyzine Johnny McKenna   *q9 15:07  Sep 27 16:02 (johnnyzine)
jezebel    Jezebel Cate     *r1    14  Sep 28 08:42 (dialup-WY.uu.net)
bradley    Bradley J Milton  t2     2  Sep 28 09:35 (spl.org)
$

33.4.4 Finding the IP Address of a Host Name

When you know the name of a particular host, and you want to find the IP address that corresponds to it, ping the host in question; this will output the IP address of the host in parenthesis (see section Checking Whether a System is Online).

You can also use dig, the "domain information groper" tool. Give a hostname as an argument to output information about that host, including its IP address in a section labelled `ANSWER SECTION'.

• To find the IP address of the host linart.net, type:

  $ dig linart.net RET ...output messages... ;; ANSWER SECTION: linart.net. 1D IN A 64.240.156.195 ...output messages... $

In this example, dig output the IP address of 64.240.156.195 as the IP address for the host linart.net.

33.4.5 Finding the Host Name of an IP Address

To find the host name for a given IP address, use dig with the `-x' option. Give an IP address as an argument to output information about that address, including its host name in a section labelled `ANSWER SECTION'.

• To find the host name that corresponds to the IP address 216.92.9.215, type:

  $ dig -x 216.92.9.215 RET ...output messages... ;; ANSWER SECTION: 215.9.92.216.in-addr.arpa. 2H IN PTR rumored.com. ...output messages... $

In this example, dig output that the host name corresponding to the given IP address was rumored.com.

33.4.6 Listing the Owner of a Domain Name

An Internet domain name's domain record contains contact information for the organization or individual that has registered that domain. Use the whois command to view the domain records for the common .com, .org, .net, and .edu top-level domains.

With only a domain name as an argument, whois outputs the name of the "Whois Server" that has that particular domain record. To output the domain record, specify the Whois Server to use as an argument to the `-h' option.

• To output the name of the Whois Server for linart.net, type:

  $ whois linart.net RET

• To view the domain record for linart.net, using the whois.networksolutions.com Whois Server, type:

  $ whois -h whois.networksolutions.com linart.net RET

NOTE: This command also outputs the names of the nameservers that handle the given domain--this is useful to get an idea of where a particular Web site is hosted.

33.5 Sending a Message to Another User's Terminal

Use write to write a message to the terminal of another user. Give the username you want to write to as an argument. This command writes the message you give, preceded with a header line indicating that the following is a message from you, and giving the current system time. It also rings the bell on the user's terminal.

• To send the message `Wake up!' to the terminal where user `sleepy' is logged in, type:

  $ write sleepy RET Wake up! C-d $

The other user can reply to you by running write and giving your username as an argument. Traditionally, users ended a write message with `-o', which indicated that what they were saying was "over" and that it was now the other person's turn to talk. When a user believed that a conversation was completed, the user would end a line with `oo', meaning that they were "over and out."

A similar command, wall, writes a text message to all other users on the local system. It takes a text file as an argument and outputs the contents of that file; with no argument, it outputs what you type until you type C-d on a line by itself. It precedes the message with the text `Broadcast message from username' (where username is your username) followed by the current system time, and it rings the bell on all terminals it broadcasts to.

• To output the contents of `/etc/motd' to all logged-in terminals, type:

  $ wall /etc/motd RET

• To output the text `Who wants to go out for Chinese food?' to all logged-in terminals, type:

  $ wall RET Who wants to go out for Chinese food? RET C-d

You can control write access to your terminal with mesg. It works like biff (see section Setting Notification for New Mail): with no arguments, it outputs whether or not it is set; with `y' as an argument, it allows messages to be sent to your terminal; and with `n' as an argument, is disallows them.

The default for all users is to allow messages to be written to their terminals; antisocial people usually put the line mesg n in their `.bashrc' file (see section Customizing Future Shells).

• To disallow messages to be written to your terminal, type:

  $ mesg n RET

• To output the current access state of your terminal, type:

  $ mesg RET is n $

In the preceding example above, mesg indicated that messages are currently disallowed to be written to your terminal.

33.6 Chatting with Other Users

There are several ways to interactively chat with other users on the Internet, regardless of their platform or operating system. The following recipes describe the most popular tools and methods for doing this.

33.6.1 Chatting Directly with a User		Chatting directly with a user.
33.6.2 Chatting with Users on IRC		Chatting on Internet Relay Chat (IRC).
33.6.3 Chatting with Users on ICQ		Chatting with ICQ tools.

33.6.1 Chatting Directly with a User

@sf{Debian}: `ytalk'
@sf{WWW}: http://www.iagora.com/~espel/ytalk/

• To request a chat with the user kat@kent.edu, type:

  $ talk kat@kent.edu RET

This command sends a connection request to the user kat@kent.edu. If the user is not logged on or is refusing messages, talk will output a message indicating such; but if that user is available, talk will send a message to that user asking to complete the connection, and it will tell you that it is ringing your party.

If that user then types talk stutz@dsl.org (if, in this example, your email address is stutz@dsl.org), then your screen will clear and you will see the following:

You can then type, and what you type will appear on both your screen and that user's screen; that user, in turn, can also type--even while you are typing--and what that user types appears on the other half of both screens:

It is standard practice to indicate that you are done saying something by typing RET RET, thus making a blank line on your half of the screen. Some users, when they have typed to the bottom of their half of the screen, sometimes type RET repeatedly to "clear" their half of the screen and bring the cursor back to the top.

Type C-c to end a talk session.

When you type, both users see the characters appear in realtime; my first demonstration of the interactive nature of the Internet, back in 1991, was when I had a live, real-time chat with a user in Australia, on the other side of the globe--the magic felt that day has never quite left whenever I run this command!

NOTE: A similar command, ytalk, allows you to connect to multiple users, and it contains other features as well; it is generally considered to be the superior successor of talk, but it is not yet available or standard on all Unix-based systems.

33.6.2 Chatting with Users on IRC

Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is a global chat system, probably the oldest and largest on the Internet. IRC is a great way to meet and talk to all kinds of people, live on the Internet; it has historically been very popular with Linux users.

There are several IRC networks, each with its own servers and tens of thousands of users; to "go on" IRC, you use an IRC client program to connect with an IRC server. Like CB radio, IRC networks have channels, usually based on a particular topic, which you join to chat with other users in that channel (you can also send private messages to other users).

The following table lists some of the IRC clients available for Linux.

NOTE: If you've never used IRC before, you might want to read The IRC Prelude, on the Web at http://irchelp.org/irchelp/new2irc.html.

33.6.3 Chatting with Users on ICQ

@sf{WWW}: http://www.portup.com/~gyandl/icq/

One nice feature of ICQ is is that you can maintain a "buddy list" of email addresses, and when you have an ICQ client running, it will tell you whether or not any of your buddies are online. But unlike talk, you can't watch the other user type in realtime--messages are displayed in the other user's ICQ client only when you send them.

The following table lists some of the free software ICQ clients currently available.