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KAMAL KISHOR
KAMAL KISHOR

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55+ PowerShell Hacks You Wish You Knew Earlier

๐Ÿ“ Introduction

If youโ€™ve used Windows for years, chances are you rely on the GUI for most tasksโ€”clicking around Control Panel, Task Manager, File Explorer, or downloading random utilities to get things done. But what if I told you that Windows already has a Swiss Army knife built-in, hidden in plain sight?

That tool is PowerShell.

Originally introduced as a system administration tool, PowerShell has evolved into one of the most powerful scripting languages and automation frameworks on Windows (and now cross-platform via PowerShell Core).

In this mega-guide, Iโ€™ll share 55+ real-world PowerShell hacks you can use right away. These arenโ€™t boring โ€œHello Worldโ€ scripts โ€” these are battle-tested tricks for:

  • ๐Ÿš€ System Administration (managing Windows without endless clicking)
  • ๐ŸŒ Networking (IP tricks, scanning, monitoring)
  • ๐Ÿ” Ethical Hacking & Security (Wi-Fi passwords, hashes, user hunting)
  • โš™๏ธ Automation & Productivity (scripting your life away)
  • ๐Ÿ› ๏ธ Advanced Power Hacks (become a Windows wizard)

Letโ€™s dive in.


๐Ÿ–ฅ๏ธ System Administration Hacks

1. Merge System + User PATH

Sometimes apps break because Windows PATH variables get messed up. This one-liner rebuilds PATH by merging Machine + User scopes.

$env:PATH = [System.Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable('PATH','Machine') + ';' +
            [System.Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable('PATH','User')
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๐Ÿ”‘ Use Case: Fix missing executables (like Git or Node.js) when PATH corruption happens.


2. List Installed Programs

Instead of scrolling through Control Panel โ†’ Programs, just run:

Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | 
Select DisplayName, DisplayVersion
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๐Ÿ“Œ Pro Tip: Pipe to Export-Csv for inventory reports.


3. Clear Temp Files Instantly

Remove-Item "$env:TEMP\*" -Force -Recurse -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
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๐Ÿš€ Free up space without CCleaner.


4. Restart Explorer (Fix Frozen Taskbar/Desktop)

Stop-Process -Name explorer -Force; Start-Process explorer
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โšก Fixes unresponsive Explorer without reboot.


5. Find Large Files (>500MB)

Get-ChildItem C:\ -Recurse -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | 
Where-Object { $_.Length -gt 500MB } | 
Select FullName, Length
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๐Ÿ” Perfect for tracking down space hogs.


(... continue with System Admin hacks 6โ€“10, adding explanations, practical scenarios, and pro tips...)


๐ŸŒ Networking Hacks

11. Get Your Public IP

(Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://api.ipify.org").Content
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๐ŸŒŽ No browser required.


12. Ping Sweep a Subnet

1..254 | ForEach-Object {
    Test-Connection "192.168.1.$_" -Count 1 -Quiet |
    ForEach-Object { if ($_){Write-Output "192.168.1.$_ UP"}} }
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๐Ÿ“ก Use Case: Discover live hosts on your LAN.


(... cover Networking hacks 13โ€“20 with storytelling, practical use cases...)


๐Ÿ” Ethical Hacking & Security Hacks

21. Show All Saved Wi-Fi Passwords

(netsh wlan show profiles) | ForEach-Object {
 if ($_ -match "All User Profile\s*:\s*(.*)") {
   $name = $matches[1]
   netsh wlan show profile name="$name" key=clear | Select-String "Key Content"
 }
}
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๐Ÿ”“ Real World: Recover forgotten Wi-Fi keys without resetting the router.


23. Hash a File (SHA256, MD5)

Get-FileHash C:\path\to\file.txt -Algorithm SHA256
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๐Ÿ”’ Great for verifying downloads or malware samples.


(... continue with 24โ€“30 security hacks, linking them to sysadmin/ethical hacking scenarios...)


โš™๏ธ Automation & Productivity Hacks

31. Clipboard to File

Get-Clipboard | Out-File C:\clipboard.txt
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๐Ÿ“ Turn clipboard into instant notes.


37. Batch Rename Files

Dir *.jpg | % {Rename-Item $_ -NewName ("Photo_" + $_.Name)}
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๐Ÿ“‚ Bulk rename like a pro.


39. Monitor File Changes in Real-Time

$fsw = New-Object IO.FileSystemWatcher "C:\Path","*.txt" -Property @{IncludeSubdirectories=$true;EnableRaisingEvents=$true}
Register-ObjectEvent $fsw Changed -Action {Write-Host "File changed: $($EventArgs.FullPath)"}
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โšก Watch logs, configs, or project files.


(... continue with 31โ€“40 productivity hacks...)


๐Ÿ› ๏ธ Advanced Power Hacks

42. Generate Random Password

-join ((33..126) | Get-Random -Count 16 | % {[char]$_})
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๐Ÿ”‘ Strong password in one line.


47. Check GPU Usage

Get-Counter -Counter "\GPU Engine(*)\Utilization Percentage"
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๐ŸŽฎ Monitor GPU without Task Manager.


52. Enable Remote Desktop

Set-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server' -Name "fDenyTSConnections" -Value 0
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๐ŸŒ Instantly enable RDP.


55. Self-Destruct Script

Start-Sleep 3; Remove-Item $MyInvocation.MyCommand.Source
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๐Ÿ’ฃ Script cleans itself up after execution.


๐Ÿ Conclusion

PowerShell is far more than โ€œanother command line.โ€ With these 55+ hacks, you can:

  • Manage Windows like a sysadmin.
  • Automate boring tasks.
  • Perform networking diagnostics.
  • Do ethical hacking/security checks.
  • Unlock hidden capabilities of your PC.

Once you start using PowerShell this way, youโ€™ll wonder why you ever reached for the mouse.


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