$ grep kermit /etc/services kermit 1649/tcp What is this mysterious protocol? Who uses it and what is its story? This story is a winding one, beginning in 1981. Kermit is, to the best of my knowledge, the oldest actively-maintained software package with an original developer still participating. It is also a scripting language, an Internet server, a (scriptable!) SSH client, and a file transfer protocol. And my first use of it was talking to my HP-48GX calculator over a 9600bps serial link.