Newly minted Microsoft MVP, pentester, and returning guest Spencer Alessi joins The PowerShell Podcast to talk about growth, giving back, and building security through PowerShell. Spencer shares lessons from his journey from sysadmin to pen tester, including the importance of learning from mistakes, documenting wins, and advocating for yourself in your career. He also introduces his latest open-source project, AppLocker Inspector, and discusses tools like Locksmith, Pink Castle, and Purple Knight that help IT pros secure their environments and build confidence in automation and defense.

Key Takeaways:

• Grow through mistakes – Learn from both your own missteps and those of others; every lesson strengthens your technical and professional skills.

• Security tools for sysadmins – Free PowerShell-based tools like AppLocker Inspector, Locksmith, and Purple Knight offer practical wins for securing Active Directory.

• Advocate for yourself and give back – Track your wins, share your work, and pay forward the mentorship and generosity that helped you grow.

Guest Bio:
Spencer Alessi is a Microsoft MVP, penetration tester, and community educator passionate about helping sysadmins strengthen their environments. Known online as @TechSpence, he creates approachable content and tools focused on helping sysadmins o improve security. Spencer is also a podcast host, public speaker, and strong advocate for mentorship, authenticity, and continuous learning in tech.

Resource Links:

• Spencer on PDQ Live - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j33dN2bELPU

• AppLocker Inspector – https://github.com/techspence/AppLockerInspector

• Purple Knight – https://www.semperis.com/purple-knight/

• Ping Castle – https://www.pingcastle.com/download/

• Locksmith (ADCS Auditing Tool) – https://github.com/jakehildreth/locksmith

• ADeleginator – https://github.com/techspence/ADeleginator

• Spencer’s Links – https://links.spenceralessi.com

• Cyber Threat Perspective Podcast – https://offsec.blog

• Connect with Andrew - https://andrewpla.tech/links

• PDQ Discord – https://discord.gg/PDQ

• PowerShell Wednesdays – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPoc8X7t0hY&list=PL1mL90yFExsix-L0havb8SbZXoYRPol0B&pp=0gcJCbAEOCosWNin

• The PowerShell Podcast on YouTube: https://youtu.be/E4ji0-rmsuA