Are you into cybersecurity and regret buying a Mac? No worries, I've got you covered.
So basically, my dad got me a Macbook Pro M2 Pro 14-inch. I kinda liked it initially, then realized its ARM architecture and macOS caused problems in several areas.
So I decided to research on it and came up with few steps which can help you set up your mac for CTFs and pentesting.
First thing we need to install is Homebrew:
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
If you guys have used Kali Linux or any Linux distro, you would've come across sudo apt <something>. In Mac, we can do brew install <something>. Something like brew install metasploit or brew install hashcat, etc.
Now, setting up VMs, I personally use UTM. I use both Parrot and Kali, and both of them run smooth. Go to https://kali.org or http://parrotsec.org and get an ARM installer if you are on Silicon Mac. I tried emulating x86 Kali using QEMU. It was really bad and laggy. I wouldn't recommend using it.
You can check the Kali or Parrot docs to set up VM in UTM.
You can now install most of your pentest tools here and CTF tools in your VMs.
Now, if you want to exploit your laptop GPU for password cracking, you can install Hashcat or John the Ripper or Hydra or whichever tool you would like using Homebrew. I personally tested Hashcat and it took around 13 seconds on GPU to crack a hash, and NVIDIA RTX 3050 took 21 seconds.
Additionally, Asahi Linux is doing a wonderful job. I have tried using Asahi Linux for CTFs, I wasn't very comfortable but you guys can try it for fun, I guess? My friends taught me what Hyprland was and it was an amazing experience setting up things. It allows us to experience native Linux.