High-Impact PowerShell One-Liners Often Overlooked by Microsoft Documentation

By Gerard King | www.gerardking.dev

PowerShell is a powerhouse for Windows system administration, but many potent one-liners often fly under the radar — overlooked in official docs yet critical for deep system control. Whether you're a sysadmin, security analyst, or threat hunter, mastering these commands can reveal hidden insights and empower you to manage Windows environments comprehensively.

Below is a curated list of powerful, frequently ignored PowerShell idioms that enable enumeration, manipulation, and control of various Windows components. Use these to elevate your operational awareness or bolster your defense strategy.

1. Get All Running Processes with Command Lines

Get-CimInstance Win32_Process | Select-Object ProcessId,CommandLine,Name

Why: Unlike Get-Process, this reveals the full command line arguments for every running process, helping detect suspicious or stealthy activity.

2. Enumerate All Loaded Services with Executable Paths

Get-CimInstance Win32_Service | Select-Object Name,State,StartMode,PathName

Why: Knowing the service binaries’ paths exposes potentially malicious services running from unusual locations.

3. List All Scheduled Tasks with Triggers and Actions

Get-ScheduledTask | Select-Object TaskName,State,Actions,Triggers

Why: Scheduled tasks are common persistence mechanisms; checking them uncovers hidden automation and execution points.

4. Enumerate All User Accounts and Their Last Login Times

Get-LocalUser | Select-Object Name,Enabled,LastLogon

Why: Identifies inactive, rogue, or recently active user accounts—key for insider threat detection.

5. Retrieve All Environment Variables (System and User)

Get-ChildItem Env:

Why: Environment variables can affect application behavior or conceal malicious payload paths.

6. Export All Windows Event Logs to XML

Get-WinEvent -ListLog * | ForEach-Object { Export-Clixml -InputObject (Get-WinEvent -LogName $_.LogName -MaxEvents 100) -Path "$($_.LogName).xml" }

Why: Deep forensic insight into system, security, and application logs for attack investigation.

7. Find All Open Network Connections with Owning Processes

Get-NetTCPConnection | Select-Object LocalAddress,LocalPort,RemoteAddress,RemotePort,State,@{Name="ProcessName";Expression={(Get-Process -Id $_.OwningProcess).Name}}

Why: Correlates network activity to processes, aiding detection of unusual communication or data exfiltration.

8. Enumerate All Loaded PowerShell Modules with Paths

Get-Module -ListAvailable | Select-Object Name,Version,Path

Why: Identifies unauthorized or malicious modules loaded or available in the environment.

9. Scan All .exe Files in Program Files for Digital Signature Validity

Get-ChildItem "C:\Program Files" -Recurse -Filter *.exe | ForEach-Object { $_.FullName; (Get-AuthenticodeSignature $_.FullName).Status }

Why: Detects tampered or unsigned executables potentially involved in supply-chain or local compromise.

10. Create an Encoded PowerShell Payload (For Obfuscation or Automation)

$command = 'Get-Process'; $bytes = [System.Text.Encoding]::Unicode.GetBytes($command); $encoded = [Convert]::ToBase64String($bytes); Write-Output $encoded

Why: Encoded commands evade simple text-based detection; understanding this is essential for offense and defense.

Summary

These PowerShell one-liners expose fundamental “under-the-hood” Windows system details that Microsoft documentation might underplay but are invaluable for administrators, security professionals, and threat actors alike. Mastery and monitoring of these commands are key to full-spectrum operational awareness.

For more insights and deep-dives, visit www.gerardking.dev.

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