Quick summary? The PS3 is currently on Wii levels of "hacked" - the latest happenings gave hackers access to the deepest of deep levels of the system. Outside of PSN, which still can detect whether you are playing backups or not, anything can be done on the PS3 at this point.

http://wololo.net/2012/11/11/ps3-4-31-isoldr-lv2ldr-keys-released-install-cfw-on-almost-any-ps3/
http://wololo.net/2012/10/24/ps3-blown-open-scene-chaos-lv0-keys-leaked-and-working/

This means that hackers have lv0 access with no way for Sony to ever patch it - just about any PS3 can be flashed to a CFW these days (unless there are hardware differences which are being actively researched, but it's only a matter of time until those too are hackable, similarily to what happened in the PSP scene).

We're also on the final stretch before a PS3 ODDE is released. Although that's a hardware mod, it removes the need of loading backups from a CFW level, and thus removes the possibility of being banned on PSN.
http://gbatemp.net/threads/ps3-odde-news.336081/

E3Flasher now also offers Dual Boot, which means that you can have one partition with an OFW and one with a CFW, further securing yourself.
http://www.e3-tech.net/e3%20flasher.html

All in all... The PS3's doors are wide open, and they can't get open any wider.

This post has been edited by Foxi4, Wed, December 19th, 2012 at 10:59

Thanks a lot Foxi, much appreciated. Looks like you still need that E3 Flasher thingy, though. I'll get one whenever I find €90 on the street, otherwise I don't feel like spending that much money. Actually, I just searched around a bit and found out you can use the E3 Flasher on multiple PS3s, so I could share it with a bunch of friends and split the price. Hm. I'll think about it.

If you want backups and backups only, it might be a good idea to wait for 3key to be released - that way, you're as safe as it gets since there's no real way of distinguishing between a real disc and a mounted image. If you're into homebrew, there's always the CFW + PSN Lover/F*cker/Whatever they're coding these days, but that entails daily checks on whether or not the method is still working, and to me living under constant stress defeats the purpose of having fun.

As for the E3 Flasher prices, I've seen it go for prices similar to the one you outlined. That, and remember - with a flasher, you have a practically unbrickable PS3, so it's "worth it" in my opinion. That, and you're not subject to Sony when it comes to exploits - you can always revert to an earlier, exploitable firmware whenever you want if they hire fairies and actually manage to patch a few things (although according to Wololo, that's not even an option at this point).

In any case, as I said - full system access was achieved. From now on, it'll only get "easier", and Sony lost any interest they might've had, focusing on the PSVita and the PS4 as well as protecting PSN - can't cry over spilled milk, right?

Foxi, if I install a CFW, play backup games offline and after that play a real game on PSN, can they ban me from PSN? And if I use the 3key?

This post has been edited by Kiekoes, Wed, December 19th, 2012 at 17:46

You shouldn't be playing on CFW using PSN unless you have some safety measures installed and you're 100% certain that they work. PSN is for OFW users only, at least until ODDE is released.

OK. And if I use the 3key?

3k3y, much like WODE is a drive emulator - the console has no way of determining whether it's reading a real disc or not, the ODDE has the keys of your original BluRay drive and the ISO is mounted as if it was a physical disc. There's literally no difference provided the dump is proper, so it's highly unlikely, if not impossible, to get banned when using one. That, and you only install the ODDE in CFW Mode - the moment it's installed and has the extracted keys, you can safetly install OFW and the ODDE will do the rest... so it's something to look forward to, yes.


This post has been edited by Foxi4, Wed, December 19th, 2012 at 18:07

That's so fucking awesome.

I haven't been banned from PSN. But then, I'm not playing online games before they officially come out. I barely play them at all, really, I just get some free DLC and sometimes download trailers.