When a bank or other company pulls your credit, it's considered a "Soft Hit". You'll lose 2-3 points, and if your credit is good, you'll recover that in no time. If you do it 5 times in 5 days, or something along those lines, they consider that "Credit Searching" (ie - you know you aren't approved, but looking for someone to slip), that's harder to recover.
Equifax has a few options. You can pay to get your history right away, as indicated above, or you can request that the send you a copy in the mail, which is free. And as stated, it's not a "Soft Hit". You don't get dinged if you go through Equifax.
I haven't heard of a legit online service. I haven't heard bad things either. Most people aren't in that much of a rush to know their credit score, but it's something I highly reccomend people look into, as I see people on a regular basis who don't know that something is on their report that shouldn't be, or that is hurting their score, until they see their report.
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