Your PS3 can be configured with either CFW or HEN and will depend on the model of PS3 that you are in possession of. For the most part the two are used exactly the same. HEN must be re-enabled every time the PS3 is turned back on. If you do not see a HEN button on the XMB (Cross media bar, aka the home menu) then you have CFW. You can further confirm you have CFW by confirming the text “Evilnat” appears on screen during boot up.
While having a console with full CFW is technically “more capable”, you can accomplish nearly the exact same end results on either, with a few exceptions. I don’t cover any of these in this documentation, but if you are every playing around with the console PLEASE make sure to pay attention to any warnings that mention HEN or CFW only, as you could accidentally brick your console.
When the PS3 boots up, pay attention to what the boot text says. If it appears stock (just saying PS3 or PS3 HEN) then you do not have CFW. If the text says something like “Evilnat” then you have CFW. You can also check the game section of the XMB for “Enable HEN” which would indicate HEN. On CFW you would see something like “CFW Tools” if CFW were installed.
If you have HEN, please carefully read the below section, as this must be enabled
If your console has HEN then you will need to enable it each time you reboot the system. This also includes exiting some games/apps, the most common you would likely run into being Playstation 2 games, as the system sort of “reboots” when exiting these.