Forums mIRC Help Connection Refused

When I try to connect to a server I keep getting the message "Connection Refused". This started happening out of the blue yesterday. I've been using mIRC for a while now with no problems, but all of the sudden this started happening. The server I've been connecting to is irc.SolidIRC.com. I know that the server is fine because other people are connecting to it with not problem. I do go to a college and I'm getting my internet from them, but I've been doing that for a while and this has only started happening yesterday. I run mIRC on Vista and I have been since I've used it. I tried uninstalling it and re-downloading it, but the problem is still there. I have the latest version of MacAfee virus protection.

Does anyone know what I could do in order for mIRC to work?

Try /server irc.solidirc.com 6667

When it's telling me "Connection Refused" it's saying it is from 6667.

Ok, try /server irc.solidirc.com 6668

maybe they blocked it?

It's very possible that they just decided to block it, The OP should ask them.

Just tried /server irc.solidirc.com 6668 and it still said my connection was refused.

Definetely sounds like the college is blocking IRC access.
You can contact the IT department and verify this with them.
As a registered student at the college you have the legal right to obtain this information from the IT department.
If they are blocking it, you can ask if there's a way for you to legally by-pass the block (sometimes a special username and/or password is required).
If they say that they won't help you by-pass, then you're sol, as illegal methods of by-passing are not supported on this forum, and can get you suspended or possibly even expelled from the college.

Actually, I originally thought that my college was blocking irc access. The thing is, I can connect to other irc's (well, one other irc, but it's still an irc). I guess my question is, if it's not the college (which I don't know at this point) is there some way that my virus protection would prevent me from connecting to these irc's?

it could easily be routing issues from your dorm's network. Severe packet loss caused by poor connectivity / a slow network could make you unable to establish a proper connection to certain servers.

Since dorm networks are usually shared by many, its definitely in the realm of possibility.

Maybe a new update: I've now discovered that whenever I try to log on to irc.solidirc.com (the irc I want to log on to) and get the "connection refused" message my virus protection shows that there was a port action blocked. What I mean by that is, I try to log on to the irc, it doesn't let me, my virus protection tells me 1 port action was blocked. I try to log on again, it doesn't let me, my virus protection tells me 2 port actions were blocked, etc. Could this mean that something in my virus protection is preventing me from accessing the irc? If so, how can I get around this? I said this in my original post, but I have the latest MacAfee OAS virus protection software. Any more help would be greatly appreciated.

You'll have to look through the settings for MacAfee to find where the port blocking or port enabling is located.
I don't have MacAfee available to me to look up the proper locations, but it's probably in your Settings.

Sorry I can't be of more assistance, but MacAfee and I have had serious problems and disagreements regarding their software.

SUCCESS!! So through my sleuthing (and through no small contribution of this forum) I figured out that it was the port settings of my virus protection software. Apparently my port settings had been configured so all irc connections were disables. Who knew. In any case, it works now. Thank you all so much for your help. I really, truly appreciate it.