I just rented an apartment (Colorado, for what it's worth RE code) that has 2-pronged outlets throughout the place except for two GFCI's, one in the bathroom and one in the kitchen.
I bought the $.30 2->3 adapter and screwed that extension piece of metal into the faceplate, and then used a cheap 'tester' to see how the outlet was wired (it has 3 lights, and they come up in combinations to indicate no ground, no hot, no neutral, etc). Each outlet I tested was 'no ground', so the boxes themselves aren't actually grounded.
I asked the landlord about this and they said 'we asked at Home Depot, and they said it's no big deal, just use a surge protector'. I don't know much about wiring/circuits etc, but this seems like shady advice given the landlord's interest to not rewire. I am a professional programmer owning a good amount of expensive hardware that 'asks' for 3-prong outlets to be used when plugging it in.
My question: What are the potential hazards (to myself and my equipment) of using a 'falsely' grounded 3-prong plug with my equipment? Is this something I should press the landlord on for code issues? (It may have been grandfathered in, the building is old but was recently redone).
Thanks for any input and advice.