Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC) have been regarded as the “professional type I interferon producing cells” of the immune system following viral recognition that relies on the expression of Toll-like receptor (TLR)7 and TLR9. Furthermore, pDC link the innate and adaptive immune systems via cytokine production and antigen presentation. More recently their ability to induce tolerance and cytotoxicity has been added to their “immune skills”. Such broad range of actions, resembling the diverse functional features of a Swiss army knife, requires strong and prompt molecular regulation to prevent detrimental effects, including autoimmune pathogenesis or tumor escape. Over the last decades, we and others have started to unravel some aspects of the signaling pathways that regulate the various functions of human pDC. Here we review aspects of the molecular regulatory mechanisms to control pDC function in light of their multifaceted roles during immunity, autoimmunity, and cancer.