If you don't know what VPN does why to use it at all?

first and foremost start with reading.
second always assume that your adversary is smarter, more proficient than you.
third never try stupid things, no matter how "secure/anonymous" are you

next secure your OS
what do you see after booting your box and checking first thing the output of
you should get nothing except DHCP
but you may see your distro autoupdate (if you turn update off and run it manually is up to you)

what output of
do you see when you just open browser (without connecting to any site)
and compare it to the above command run just after booting OS?

I use FF because I know how to shut it up and how to harden FF

then secure your basic network connections (e.g. VPN will not help if you have webRTC leaks from your browser)
disable ipv6 (as ipv6 adds more issues not providing any real benefits yet)
also: are you using FB or such? If so, you don't need VPN, your data is owned by third party companies already.

VPN (in theory) provides anonimity. That is all what it does. If this is worth a shot it is up to you:
rules: don't go cheap (quality service is not free)
can you pay for vpn services anonymously?
free trials? (test it for leaks, speed DNS)
check if VPN provider is using private DNS servers or public (Google? -> don't bother)
certificates quality
limits by VPN provider?
use one or two good VPN providers (I have two)
most reviews are biased. You need to know what are you looking for
Your hardware setup: workstation or laptop? Laptop setup may require more than standard VPN if used is the situations where VPN is forbidden. Which means that you would have to know how to hide VPN connection (this may or may not apply to you)

..and so on

limitations: typical when using vpn (need to read about them)

my setup

1) VM client (optionally with TOR)
2) host/VPN1
3) router/VPN2

of course there is more to VPN. I just wanted you to know that there is no easy way to be anonymous.

Hacking (is not related and VPN will not protect against): unless you really piss someone off, chances that you will get actively hacked are null.
Reasons for net getting hacked (see above): servers are more interesting, more profitable so nobody will bother with some random workstation.

Of course if you install malware on your computer then it really does not matter what you do next

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