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There are two kinds of data/relic in wormholes. The ones with pirate names (Serpentis, Guristas, etc) are the ones you want. The ones with spookier names are the “wormhole data/relics”. Those are essentially combat sites of some of the hardest in the game. As an explorer you avoid those. Even if you did beat the NPCs, the loot in the cans is not like the ones in the Pirate sites and generally not worth the effort.
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Those pirate data/relics do not have NPCs. They are direct transplants of the null-sec sites of the same kind. Relics have the best rewards on average. Data are more of an all or nothing reward. Sometimes you get a lot, other times you get nothing. But data signatures can also have ghost sites which can be very lucrative but are special. You will find these data/relics in Class 1-3 wormholes.
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If you don’t know what kind of wormhole you are in, use a mapper like Tripwire or a site like http://wh.pasta.gg/ (though it is pretty outdated now). The mapper will not only help you as you move around wspace to keep track of things but provides good information on the system, the class, the effect, and a place where you can keep notes.
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As for the ship, covops cloaking is very important for wspace while you scan your signatures. For this you want either a T2 Covops (Minmatar is the probe) or an Astero (sister’s of EVE T1 covops).
EDIT: dscan is your friend. Use it all the time. You will be hunted and your hunters often will already have your signature scanned down and be waiting for you cloaked. Expect it and live dangerously. Be ready for a fight or a gank.
Good luck and happy hunting. Welcome to wspace.