diff --git a/etc/rc b/etc/rc
index 360bc86b543..efa5ecf30cd 100644
--- a/etc/rc
+++ b/etc/rc
@@ -165,10 +165,12 @@ purgedir() {
 		for dir
 		do
 		(
-			cd "$dir" && ls | while read file
+			cd "$dir" && for file in .* *
 			do
-				[ -d "$file" ] && purgedir "$file"
-				[ -f "$file" ] && rm -f "$file"
+				[ ."$file" = .. -o ."$file" = ... ] && continue
+				[ -d "$file" -a ! -L "$file" ] &&
+					purgedir "$file"
+				[ -f "$file" ] && rm -f -- "$file"
 			done
 		)
 		done