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Tumbleweed Licenses Email Firewall Patents to Vircom

Redwood City, CA – September 30, 2005 – Tumbleweed Communications Corp. (NASDAQ: TMWD), a leading provider of email security, file transfer security, and identity validation software and appliances, today announced the licensing of two technology patents to Vircom.

Vircom, leading developer of secure email management and authentication solutions, has licensed Tumbleweed U.S. Patent No. 6,609,196 titled "Email Firewall with Stored Key Encryption/Decryption" and Patent No. 6,393,568 titled “Encryption and Decryption Method with Content Analysis Provision,” and has obtained an option to license additional Tumbleweed patents.

“Vircom is always on the forefront of innovation, so it is normal that we avoid any legal hurdles that could prevent us from bringing to our customers the widest array of features available on the market, both today and tomorrow,” commented Sylvain Durocher, president and founder of Vircom.

“We’re pleased to assist Vircom in bringing a broader choice of features through our licensed patents,” said Craig R Brennan, Tumbleweed’s CEO and chairman. “We will always continue to develop and innovate for the industry."

Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

About Tumbleweed Communications Corp.

Tumbleweed provides security software and appliances for email protection, file transfers, and identity validation that allow organizations to safely conduct business over the Internet. Tumbleweed offers these solutions in three comprehensive product suites: MailGate, SecureTransport, and Validation Authority. MailGate provides protection against spam, viruses, and attacks, and enables policy-based message filtering, encryption, and routing. SecureTransport enables business to safely exchange large files and transactions without proprietary software. Validation Authority is the world-leading solution for determining the validity of digital certificates. Tumbleweed’s enterprise and government customers include ABN Amro, Bank of America Securities, Catholic Healthcare West, JP Morgan Chase & Co., The Regence Group (Blue Cross/Blue Shield), St. Luke's Episcopal Healthcare System, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Department of Defense, and all four branches of the U.S. Armed Forces.  Tumbleweed was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Redwood City, Calif. For additional information about Tumbleweed go to www.tumbleweed.com or call 650-216-2000.

About Vircom

Montreal-based Vircom is a leading developer of secure email management and authentication solutions for the demanding needs of Internet Service Providers and SMBs. Vircom's mature Modus™ secure email management technology incorporates over 10 years of industry expertise, making it a powerful driving force in the defense against spam and email-borne fraud. Modus has gained important industry recognition, including a record-breaking five-award distinction from Windows IT Pro magazine. For more information, please visit www.vircom.com.

SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT

Tumbleweed cautions that forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on plans and expectations as of the date of the press release, and that a number of factors could cause the actual results to differ materially from the guidance given at this time. These factors are described in the Safe Harbor statement below.

Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, particularly with respect to the development and enforcement of the Tumbleweed patent portfolio.   In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “potential,” “continue,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates,” and similar expressions.  For further cautions about the risks of investing in Tumbleweed, we refer you to the documents Tumbleweed files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, particularly Tumbleweed’s Form 10-K filed March 16, 2005 and Form 10-Q filed August 9, 2005.

Tumbleweed assumes no obligation to update information contained in this press release, which represents the Company’s expectations only as of the date of this release and should not be viewed as a statement about the Company’s expectations after such date. Although this release may remain available on the Company’s website or elsewhere, its continued availability does not indicate that the Company is reaffirming or confirming any of the information contained herein.