I am seeing the same issue on the Free Version. I have tried using the Exclude list but it still fails to progress when it hits a random .LNK file. I have also tried to use the Troubleshooting entries to Disable Kernel and Direct Disk access. I have uninstalled and re-installed SAS to clear any possible file errors. Using the Stop Scan button on the scan does not stop/halt the program. In Task Manager the process shows around 32% CPU usage when it is stuck and requires using End Task to close it down. SAS Core service shows as running but is showing using 0% of CPU.
In Event Viewer the event id is 1002 with task category (101)
SAS Free Edition Version is 6.0.1230
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64-bit
CPU
Intel Core i5 6500 @ 3.20GHz 36 °C
Skylake 14nm Technology
RAM
16.0GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 799MHz (11-11-11-28)
Motherboard
ASRock Z170 Pro4/D3 (CPUSocket) 31 °C
Graphics
E2240 (1920x1080@60Hz)
SMBX2235 (1920x1080@59Hz)
HP x2301 (1920x1080@60Hz)
Intel HD Graphics 530 (ASRock)
4096MB ATI AMD Radeon R7 200 Series (Sapphire/PCPartner) 33 °C
CrossFire Disabled
Storage
55GB KINGSTON SV300S37A60G (SSD) 28 °C
238GB ADATA SX900 (SSD) 32 °C
2794GB Seagate ST3000DM001-1ER166 (SATA) 36 °C
59GB Kingston SSDNow V Series 64GB (SSD)
1862GB Western Digital WD My Passport 259F USB Device (SSD) 28 °C
Optical Drives
TSSTcorp DVDWBD SH-B123A
ELBY CLONEDRIVE SCSI CdRom Device
Audio
Realtek High Definition Audio