PowerShell is a powerful scripting language and automation framework that is widely used by IT professionals and system administrators. One important aspect of PowerShell is the PowerShell execution policy, which determines the level of security for running scripts on a system.

If you are new to PowerShell, you may have come across terms like ‘set-executionpolicy’ and ‘get-executionpolicy’. In this blog post, we will explore what these commands do and why they are important.

What is PowerShell Execution Policy?

The execution policy is a security feature in PowerShell that determines whether scripts can be run on a system. It helps prevent malicious scripts from being executed without the user’s knowledge or consent.

There are different levels of execution policy:

• Restricted: No scripts are allowed to run. This is the default setting.
• AllSigned: Only scripts signed by a trusted publisher can run.
• RemoteSigned: Scripts downloaded from the internet need to be signed, but local scripts can run without a signature.
• Unrestricted: Any script can run without any restrictions.

Setting PowerShell Execution Policy

To set the execution policy, you can use the ‘set-executionpolicy’ command followed by the desired policy level. For example, to set the execution policy to ‘RemoteSigned’, you can run:

set-executionpolicy RemoteSigned

Keep in mind that you need administrative privileges to change the execution policy.

Getting Execution Policy

To check the current execution policy, you can use the ‘get-executionpolicy’ command. This will display the current policy level.

get-executionpolicy

Why is Execution Policy Important?

The execution policy is important for maintaining the security of your system. By default, PowerShell has a restricted execution policy, which means that no scripts can be run. This helps prevent accidental execution of malicious scripts.

However, in some cases, you may need to run scripts on your system. In such cases, you can change the execution policy to a more permissive level, such as ‘RemoteSigned’ or ‘Unrestricted’.

It is important to note that changing the execution policy to a more permissive level can increase the risk of running malicious scripts. Therefore, it is recommended to only change the execution policy when necessary and to be cautious when running scripts from untrusted sources.

Conclusion

Understanding the PowerShell execution policy is essential for any IT professional or system administrator. It helps maintain the security of your system while allowing you to run scripts when needed.

In this blog post, we covered the basics of the execution policy, how to set it, and how to check the current policy level. Remember to always be cautious when running scripts and only change the execution policy when necessary.