configuration issue

[classroomconcepts at Safe-mail.net]

Good Morning,

I'm having a problem getting my Pidgin to work properly and nobody I talk to seems to be able to help.  I use both pidgin and pidgin portable.  They both work perfectly fine (pidgin on desktop of laptop, portable on external drive) EXCEPT when I'm at work, which is the one place I need it to work the most.  When I try to connect, I get an error message that Pidgin has timed out trying to connect to the server.  It seems like it must just be some minor configuration issue, but I can't seem to figure it out.  There are 4 different port options, so if that's the issue, what do I change, what do I leave the same?  If it's a firewall issue, I'm currently using the suggested port #'s for Norton, but I don't know what Firewall my place of employment may use, and I'm not going to ask..you can speculate why..lol.  So please offer some alternatives.  I'd take this to a computer shop but the problem only occurs when at work, so that won't do any good.  Thank you VERY, VERY much for your help!