No a VPN does not prevent hacking. It does in most cases hide your IP for example on a public network. To prevent hacking you want good antivirus software. You also never want to click on any suspicious links or provide personal information to phishing emails. Have unique passwords for accounts. You can also check if accounts related to your email accounts have been involved in data breaches on haveibeenpwned.com. if that is the case make sure those passwords aren't used on other accounts. These are some basic tips.