What are the Best Practices for Protecting M1 MacBook Air against Viruses, Malware etc.?

[Voyager]

Hello,

I am a (very) new Mac OS user. Having been in the Microsoft world since the DOS (pre-Windows) days, I just bought my first Mac OS device, an M1 MacBook Air. I know what to do to setup a new PC and what to install to secure it, but I'm at a complete loss as far as what steps to take to setup and protect a Mac OS machine. On Windows, I run my browser inside a sandbox (Sandboxie), and have various browser extensions for additional security. I also use Malwarebytes for malware protection and I use VirtualBox to run virtual machines (Ubuntu, etc.) Are there equivalent apps for the Mac OS world?

Are anti-virus/anti-malware apps necessary/advised for Mac OS? Is sandboxing available/advised/necessary for Mac OS? What other precautions should I take?
Also, do I need to differentiate between apps (Intel vs. M1 Apple silicon) when downloading/installing? In other words, do I need to verify that an app says it will work on an M1 MacBook Air, or is it sufficient that it says it is for Mac OS?

Sorry for the Newbie questions. I would appreciate any help or advice, i.e., recommendations for apps I should install.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Applescrumpy]

You do not need any anti-virus apps for your Mac as macOS has its own built-in protection mechanisms.

Protecting against malware in macOS

In macOS, Apple protects against malware using XProtect and the Malware Removal Tool (MRT), and updates these tools automatically.

support.apple.com

However other forms of malware can still get through and apps such as Malwarebytes and DetectX Swift should offer adequate protection.

I also take full advantage of any protection offered within internet browsers, e.g. Ad blocking, and of course try to avoid browsing dodgy looking sites.

 

[maw_walker]

I can't speak to the sandboxing as I have never done that. I do use a separate browser for searches and research though. As for AV, my personal belief is that all operating systems need some AV protection. Apple has some built in but I have no idea how comprehensive it is. I have tried several different AV solutions for Mac and have had mixed results in terms of performance issues. AV on Macs is a bit of a controversial issue for some reason. No OS is immune from viruses so that's my take on that...

I only have one M1 Mac which is my wife's and she literally has nothing but Apple apps installed so I can't speak to VirtualBox. My assumption is that since all new Macs are M1 (not sure on pros?) that software vendors are on board but I would look at the web sites for the software you wish to run to make sure it works on an M1 Mac first.

On another note, welcome! I am actually a Linux/BSD convert. I have been using Linux as a desktop since 1998 but tired of the constant changes and vast number of choices. I own a Windows gaming box but that's all it is used for. Macs do everything in my house that matters , banking, email, etc.