My home has numerous non-grounded receptacles (2-wire, no ground). Is there such a thing as a whole house GFCI that would make the house safer allowing the convenient use of grounded (3-prong) receptacles?

Also, I thought I read somewhere that if a GFCI is placed as the first receptacle that subsequent (down-the-line) receptacles could be changed from 2-prong to 3-prong and considered grounded/safe.

Well the answer is, kind of. You can install GFCI breakers and provide GFCI protection to each circuit. Some folks install GFCI receptacles which do accept the 3rd prong but that does not mean the outlet is actually grounded, it just now has GFCI protection. Ground and GFCI are not be confused, not the same. What kind of cabling is in your home?

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Originally Posted by PcolaTom

My home has numerous non-grounded receptacles (2-wire, no ground). Is there such a thing as a whole house GFCI that would make the house safer allowing the convenient use of grounded (3-prong) receptacles?

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Well, not a whole-house unit, but a breaker for each circuit ($$$), or a GFI receptacle at the beginning of each circuit.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PcolaTom

Also, I thought I read somewhere that if a GFCI is placed as the first receptacle that subsequent (down-the-line) receptacles could be changed from 2-prong to 3-prong and considered grounded/safe.

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As ballengerb1 says:
Safe? Yes, definitely safer.
Grounded? Definitely NOT.
Legal? YES.