Just curious. Since the winsxs folder is HUGE, I'd like to skip it during malware scans. In some cases, it represents a third or more of the total files scanned. I know that most of the "files" here are just hard links, so there would be a huge difference in scan time if I could just ignore it. I can figure a couple of workarounds that are clunky, and it is better to be safe than sorry, but really the question is whether it is possible for it to be infected. I don't think I've run across an infection here before, but there's always the first time. Any thoughts? edit: I guess another question would be if the winsxs folder is infected, would it make a difference? When else does a program / OS have to access this folder besides reinstallment/repair/etc...?