Thanks for all the great answers guys! I have always wondered what the "keys" were and now I get everything lol. I obviously am pretty noobish so you do not know how much I appreciate you guys bearing with me. Thank you so much

It would still be nice to know:
1. How to get these keys (off of the PS3?)
2. How to make a CFW by editing original OFW and not using PS3MFW
3. Details on using PSL1GHT and PS3 PKGToolkitGUI
I actually want to know how to make these things on my own without using other peoples programs. Thanks for the PS3MFW, but I want to know what I am doing and how to do it. I am pretty sure Geohot didn't pull out PS3MFW to make his 3.55 CFW lol. It's like being taught how to write sentences, but not knowing anything about letters. If needed, I do have:
Microsoft Visual Basic (probably not needed)
Microsoft Visual C#
Microsoft Visual C++