The simplest explanation is most likely true. Since your software firewall stopped anything from happening on the connection right after the TCP handshake, it isn't possible that the VNC handshake even took place. Unless your software firewall is exceptionally strange.

Adoption rates suffer because the stigma over the currency are that its users are a large a bunch of government-hating paranoiacs, view it as a ponzi scheme, etc. At least when I talk to other people. If the price volatility settles and other ebay/craigslist/etc clones start becoming widely used, then adoption will increase.  Especially if good deals can be had.

This could be done via promotion from bitcoin.org, for starters. This is always going to be the central starting point for people searching for just exactly what it is.

Since you blocked the connection at your software firewall level, I'd say they didn't even get to the password stage. There are plenty of people/bots/scripts that scan ranges of addresses for open SSH, VNC, etc. I doubt it was anything targeted at you specifically.

Hi folks! Been bitcoining for a couple of months now, but just recently started using this login.

I imagine the same kind of waste of resources took place during traditional gold rushes. It's all meaningless though -- the bitcoin network isn't threatened by the bad decisions by miners because of the self regulation.