Get rid of the demo, get the real game.
Add a mod pack like P&N, and PeoplesMod if you can get it to work.
Use the AI in your favor when you're new. Jump into maps and look around for ships flying around asteroids. Put your time at x8 and wait.
Eventually one will fly into something (asteroid, planet, its fellow ships, or get attacked). Then just ghost in, get the salvage, and run.
I was up to a Class II cruiser before I ever had to attack anything... though I did a *LOT* of running away.