science

Snarfing

Snarfing is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Snarfing rather than just read about it. In short: Snarf is a term used by computer programmers and the UNIX community meaning to copy a file or data over a network, for any purpose, with additional specialist meanings to access data without appropriate permission. It also refers to using command line tools to transfer files through the HTTP, gopher, finger, and FTP protocols without user interaction, and to a method of achieving cache coherence in a multiprocessing…

Key takeaways

Snarfing belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Snarfing to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Snarfing from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Snarf is a term used by computer programmers and the UNIX community meaning to copy a file or data over a network, for any purpose, with additional specialist meanings to access data without appropriate permission. It also refers to using command line tools to transfer files through the HTTP, gopher, finger, and FTP protocols without user interaction, and to a method of achieving cache coherence in a multiprocessing computer architecture through observation of writes to cached data.

Example An example of a snarf is the Evil twin attack, using a simple shell script running software like AirSnarf to create a wireless hotspot complete with a captive portal. Wireless clients that associate to a snarf access point will receive an IP, DNS, and gateway and appear completely normal. Users will have all of their DNS queries resolve to the attacker's IP number, regardless of their DNS settings, so any website they attempt to visit will bring up a snarf "splash page", requesting a username and password. The username and password entered by unsuspecting users will be mailed to root@localhost. The reason this works is:

Legitimate access points can be impersonated and/or drowned out by rogue access points, and Users without a means to validate the authenticity of access points will nevertheless give up their hotspot credentials when asked for them

See also Bluejacking Bluesnarfing Pod slurping

References

External links Airsnarf Attack Wiktionary "snarf"

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Snarfing

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Snarfing claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Snarfing before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Snarfing ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Snarfing

In research: Snarfing appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Snarfing in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Snarfing is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Cybercrime, Privacy of telecommunications, Web security exploits, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Snarfing outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Snarfing in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Snarfing means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Snarfing out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Snarfing in simple terms?

Why does Snarfing matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Snarfing?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Snarfing.