How avoid auto-save problems

[Harry Putnam]

when I use emacs to ssh into a remote host as root (through tramp) I
see this message every little while:

  Auto-saving...
  Auto-saving findsnp: Couldn't find exit status of `((test -e 
/root/bin/address@hidden || test -h /root/bin/address@hidden) && /usr/bin/stat 
-c '(("%N") %h %u %g %X.0 %Y.0 %Z.0 %s.0 "%A" t %i.0 -1)' 
/root/bin/address@hidden || echo nil)'

I guess it has something to do with not having permission where ever
emacs is attempting to save?  Or is it something else?

When the message comes up, it freezes the emacs session for a few
moments.  Very annoying when you are trying type at full speed.

What can I do about it? (redirect the save action?)