Ships & Modules

You'll be vulnerable until the day you stop autopiloting

I don't auto-pilot

If you are going to move high value cargo in a standard industrial, try moving it at non peak times,, eg at server restart. Even then you are taking a chance.

Learn how to use the MWD/cloak trick
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=eve+online+MWD+cloak+trick

Train for a freighter and if you have an alt account, learn to use the webbing technique
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAzjs229_kM

Fly smart and good luck

warp off before they can lock and scan you this usually involves not flying a hauler. or using a t2 hauler, and/or mwd/cloak.

or fit enough EHP it isn't profitable for them to try and gank you.

Really?

It's difficult to cargo scan someone, take a look at their items, decide whether or not it's worth the gank and then lock and pop them before they have time to warp off.

Are you sure you weren't sitting afk on a gate or something?

Technically, you're vulnerable as long as the items in your cargo exceed the cost of the ships that are lost in the gank. Even then you're not safe, because lots of people don't gank for profit.

What Lyokus said was right, you didn't need any of those expanded cargohold mods on your ship. But only in a perfect world do we ever fit only as many cargo rigs as we need. Most people tend to fit for max cargo and just try to be as cautious as possible en-route by not autopiloting, so in that respect you didn't do anything "wrong" even though you could have taken further steps to prevent it.

If what you're saying about not autopiloting is true, then i'd say you're simply a victim of bad luck. Can't say i've seen too many people get their ship ganked while not autopiloting. Then again, I don't do ganks.

Dont Go Afk

fit a mwd + cloak.

if you get scanned on one side or see stuff that looks like "HEY TIME TO GANK SOME HAULER"

mwd and cloak until you can either insta-warp out of cloak . i.e. the cloak warp trick or you are out of range.

Seems You are the one with lack of understanding. Any hauler signature is already WAY LARGER than the weapon resolutiosn on a catalysis. Increasing even more makes ZERO effect because they will not be orbiting you at speed.

do not know why ... people keep scanning haulers that arrive at JITA and take second to dock all the time. If they arrive again in the next few minutes, people expect same value... and kill it.

Looks like your industrial ship was paper thin - about 5k EHP or so? Take a look at some other industrials - some have enough powergrid (such that one or more large shield extenders can be fitted) to tank over 40k EHP assuming your rigs are tank oriented too. Based on some charts I've seen, you can still be ganked for the lulz but it would require enough Tornados to not be at all profitable for the gankers.

Train Evasive Maneuvering to at least level 4. Also train other ship and navigation skills that improve your ship's agility or acceleration. This will significantly reduce your align and warp time, giving gankers less time to decide if you're worth shooting. Also train Mechanics, Hull Upgrades, and Shield Management to at least level 4, preferably level 5. These skills all increase your ships EHP. There are also shield and armor resistance skills you may want to train to increase EHP even further.

If you don't need your max cargo space, fitting a damage control in a low slot can give you a big EHP boost for only 1 slot (don't forget to turn it on!). But realistically, the best way to avoid ganking is with a blockade runner or deep space transport. The BR is very difficult to tackle without a bubble, and is immune to cargo scans. The DST just has so much EHP that it's not profitable to gank in highsec unless you've got a hold full of plex or something silly like that, plus it has a free warp stab bonus. In my personal experience using blockade runners, nobody has ever been able to tackle me without a bubble. If you're quick on the cloak button they get a fraction of a second to lock you. It can still happen, but most gankers are not flying with the ships you need to do it.

A couple general tips:
1. Use numbers to your advantage. If you're moving into a hub and there are other indy ships moving along the same path, wait for them to jump before you jump. Likewise, wait for them to align and warp before you align and warp. The ganker can only manage so many targets at once, and they may be too busy with other targets to catch you.

2. Use a cheap fast ship and make insta-undock bookmarks at major trading stations. You're invulnerable for about 30 seconds after undocking if you don't give any ship commands, and you're moving at full speed. A properly placed bookmark straight off the station exit can be warped to almost instantly. Place it either about 120km off the station, or off grid of the station. Far enough that you're well out of tackle range, but not so far that a ganker could just warp to you.

3. If you're moving especially valuable stuff from one hub to another, try to take an alternative route from the one that "set destination" gives you, and do it at off peak times. Generally after 9PM eastern on weekdays or around server restart. Never move valuable stuff on weekends if you can avoid it.