MacBook Air M1 froze, purple screen, then it restarted itself

First, VPNs do not provide the security & privacy you expect unless you use them to connect to a business network (or perhaps to your own home network if you have your own VPN server/appliance for allowing remote access to your home network....most people do not). In those cases, the business or employer will have you utilize the VPN software made for their VPN appliance. Otherwise these VPN services are only good by getting around regional restrictions on the Internet. Here is an article about these issues:

https://gist.github.com/joepie91/5a9909939e6ce7d09e29

Since neither of the Proton VPN system extensions are loaded (they are marked as block), they probably are not causing the problem.

The Kernel Panic summary provided by the EtreCheck report indicates the panic is related to a connected Display. It is hard to say if this is a hardware or software issue, however, since the VPN driver is blocked & not loaded, it probably isn't causing the problem, but perhaps Zoom is. Make sure the Zoom app is completely up to date. Otherwise it is probably going to be a hardware failure.

Make sure to disconnect all external devices in case one of them may be causing a problem.

Here is an excellent post describing the Kernel Panic summary shown in your EtreCheck report if you are interested in some more details. If you are not interested in the technical details, then skip them & just read the last two paragraphs of this post by @jksoegaard:

https://apple.stackexchange.com/a/421610

Most Apple techs do not read or understand how to interpret Kernel Panic reports. Apple will usually blame the third party software that has been installed. So if you want Apple to repair the laptop for a hardware issue, you either need to have the Apple Diagnostics detect a hardware issue, or you need to show the failure occurs with a clean install of macOS with no third party apps installed (even better is not to migrate or restore from a backup). For an Apple Silicon Mac, the best way to do this is by performing a DFU firmware Restore which resets the security enclave chip & system firmware as well as pushing a clean copy of macOS onto the internal SSD (destroying all data on the internal SSD). If the failure occurs under these conditions, then it indicates a hardware issue (or possibly a bug in macOS, but the latter is unlikely or we would see more people posting about this issue online).

How to revive or restore Mac firmware - Apple Support

Revive or restore a Mac with Apple silicon using Apple Configurator - Apple Support

Due to the nature of this Kernel Panic, instead of a DFU firmware Restore, I believe the following will serve you just as well. First, perform a DFU firmware Revive to reset the security enclave chip & system firmware. Next, create a new APFS volume making sure to give it a unique name so it doesn't conflict with the existing volume name of your current boot volume. I would suggest naming the new APFS volume something like "Sonoma Test". After creating a new APFS volume, download & install macOS onto the new APFS volume. This will allow you to dual boot this laptop & jump back & forth between your current system and the new "clean" install of macOS so it minimizes the inconvenience while troubleshooting. After the issue is resolved, you can easily delete the new APFS volume and go back to your main boot volume....I highly recommend making sure to reconfigure the default Startup Disk in System Settings to the old main boot volume prior to deleting the new APFS volume as it can simplify things.

BTW, do you have any backups of your system? If not, then you really need to start frequent and regular backups of the computer. Apple provides the Time Machine backup software with macOS for free making it very easy for users to backup their computer. With these newer Macs there are a lot of new ways to permanently lose access to the data on the internal SSD due to all the hardware, software, and security changes. One example is that it is impossible to delete accidentally deleted data after the Trash has been emptied due to how SSDs work. Even an expensive professional data recovery service will be unable to retrieve that data.

P.S. The Apple forum logged me out while writing this reply and I had to copy portions of it. I tried to recreate all the embedded links, but it is possible I missed some or I did not correctly fix some of my edits. I apologize if something is incorrect.

nicozss wrote:

I've already uninstalled that VPN app long time ago, using AppCleaner "as uninstaller" to try to clear as many dependancies as possible, but somehow something is still present (any suggestion to how to get rid of that?).

Usually it is best to use the uninstaller included with the app to remove an app like this. If the app does not provide its own uninstall option, then you should follow the app developer's instructions to uninstall it. Whenever you use an installer app to install a macOS app, then you need to use the app's uninstall option to completely remove it. Those types of apps as you have just discovered will place multiple files into the bowels of macOS.

Try booting into Safe Mode. Then delete each of the files shown in the EtreCheck report related to the VPN software.

I'm currently using an 27" 2k external display connect to the MacBook via USB-C port (straight-in, without any dongle, just a typeC-hdmi cable). It shouldn't be normal anyway to develop this problem, in my humble opinion, but, on the other hand, I have yet to experience it using the MacBook Air alone (without any external display connected, because I basically use it as a desktop other than a laptop).

Could be this monitor? Could be this cable? Could be a software issue? An hardware issue? Difficult to say, because, as written on my first post, sometimes it occurs every day for a few days, then it stops, then again maybe one time, and so on...

From reading these forums, it seems that HDMI connections may have more issues, but I know a co-worker mentioned recently that they have had issues with USB-C video connections with Macs. I don't have any recent personal experience with Apple Silicon Macs and external displays.

External displays can be complicated with these newer Macs. I don't completely understand all the nuances. @Grant Bennet-Alder is a respected forum contributor who has posted multiple times on these forums providing lots of detailed information on the current Macs and external displays. Unfortunately I have not memorized the details of those posts. I tried to find a couple posts that may be relevant, but he has posted so much they are hard to find the ones with the more detailed descriptions of Apple Silicon Macs & external displays.

I also know a lot of third party displays have their own quirks as well...I've been disappointed by a lot of displays & how they behave. I have been very disappointed in the quality of display monitors for many years now.

BTW, do you have any backups of your system?

I do not use a backup of my system, as I instead do with my iPhone and iPad. I regularly backup the data on the MacBook I care not to lose, but I'm not afraid of reinstalling the os is needed, knowing my important data are safe on external devices or cloud space.

The OS is now on a signed & sealed system volume so it is no longer easy to restore the OS from a backup. In fact Time Machine, Apple's built-in backup software included with macOS, no longer backs up the OS....TM now just backs up the user data.

Keep in mind iCloud is a file syncing service....not a backup service (the exception is the iPhone/iPad where it is possible to back up the iOS device to iCloud). Many other cloud services are also file syncing services....file syncing services are not backup services, although there are third party vendors that do offer actual cloud based backup services.

That's what I'm afraid of, to bring the Mac to Apple Store just to have me said that all is normal, as happened to other people with the same issue. And, as you stated, most of them had the employees blaming it on 3th party apps or nonsense. I can't even replicate the issue "on command", because there is not a standard way to make it appears.

I'm going through a DFU firmware Restore, as you suggest, if the situation becomes unbearable and I have to "convince" the Genius Bar that there's something wrong with the machine (and no 3rd party softwares!).

You don't have much software installed with the VPN and Zoom apps being the most likely culprits since they do have ties to lower sections of macOS which can cause problems if they misbehave.

If you can confirm the issue only occurs with the external display connected, then that may help you figure things out and would make a hardware issue with the laptop less likely. Unfortunately even knowing that would still make troubleshooting difficult.

What video inputs does your Display have?

You mention connecting the display over HDMI directly to the USB-C port on the laptop. What cable are you using? Perhaps the cable is at fault.

Maybe another contributor will chime in here to offer more assistance, since I don't have much experience with external displays and Apple Silicon Macs.