I learned something new, haha. However, the proxy settings have been there all along and the problem persists.
I am at a religious school, behind a draconian Internet filter. What is the IP address that the application manager retrieves program files from? Perhaps it is blocked.
If the proxy information is entered then I would recommend first stepping back and reviewing Sign in or activation errors | CS6, CS5.5 Subscriptions, CS6 Perpetual - http://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/policy-pricing/activation-network-issues.html. This list several common causes which can lead to the Adobe Application Manager to not being able to access the Internet.
In specific the Adobe Application Manager is trying to access the following servers and ports:
- ccmdls.adobe.com:443
- ims-na1.adobelogin.com:443
- na1r.services.adobe.com:443
- prod-rel-ffc-ccm.oobesaas.adobe.com:443
- lm.licenses.adobe.com:443