P1
Firstly it was probably not a 'hacker' that took over your machine but most likely a downloaded ActiveX file (program) or similar that changed your internet settings.
I agree that you probably don't want to run for more than 3 seconds these days without a security suite guarding your machine but it may be your only option. If you can isolate your PC from the internet and uninstall then reinstall that may help.
If the rest of your machine is working then try right clicking on the shortcut and choose open in new window which is how pprune links work anyway.
How much time do you spend online? It may be worth getting a broadband connection installed then no more problems with rogue diallers.
Other things you may want to consider is running a firewall on your machine to stop nasty intruders.
FSD