mdworker saturating the system.log file

Hi,

i have a problem on my late 2010 MBA, running 10.6.8. Frequently, the fan goes frantic, and it appears it is linked to mdworker running over and over again. It seems to be doing that when the vpn from the company is running (Juniper through Secure App Manager).

I checked the system.log file and it is 2.63Go for the past 5 days! Mostly filled with

Jan 3 08:45:39 Puss mdworker[59604]: socket(PF_ROUTE) failed: Operation not permitted

Jan 3 08:45:39 Puss sandboxd[59747]: mdworker(59604) deny system-socket

Jan 3 08:45:39 Puss sandboxd[59747]: mdworker(59604) deny network-outbound /private/var/run/mDNSResponder

(repeated 500 times and over, and eventually:

Jan 3 08:45:39: --- last message repeated 1 time ---

Jan 3 08:45:39 Puss mdworker[59604]: socket(PF_ROUTE) failed: Operation not permitted

Jan 3 08:45:39 Puss sandboxd[59747]: mdworker(59604) deny system-socket

Jan 3 08:45:39 Puss com.apple.launchd[1] (0x100101ea0.mach_init.mdworker[59604]): Exited with exit code: 1

Can the vpn really have an influence on Spotlight? What is spotlight trying to index and why is it denied?

Eventually, i may be dreaming, but it seems that something is chewing up my SSD space. Without adding much files, it feels like free space is going down.

Thanks for any help.